Off first win, Prop Me Up in turf debut

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The development of young horses such as Prop Me Up helped Kelly Breen capture his first Monmouth Park training title this year.

Prop Me Up won her maiden by three lengths in commanding fashion Sept. 9 under Joe Bravo. She steps up Tuesday afternoon at The Meadowlands to face winners for the first time in the $36,000 allowance feature for fillies and mares at one mile on the turf.

Prop Me Up, a 3-year-old, has made three starts for Breen this year, with two seconds to accompany the win.

"She's getting better," Breen said. "We've taken our time with her. We're trying to get her Beyer numbers up to see if she's good quality."

Prop Me Up earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 70 for the win, her first two-turn effort. She proved that distance was not a problem with the victory, but the question remains how she will handle the grass, over which she makes her debut Monday.

"We're hoping that it comes off the grass," Breen said. "We're going to run regardless. She ran a nice race last time. She's training great, and we gave her a little time off after her win."

Mountain Mambo owns the best turf credentials in the race. A 3-year-old, Mountain Mambo has already won three races and $99,460 on the grass. She tries this allowance spot after scoring consecutive wins against $100,000 claimers at Saratoga, both of which came at one mile, the same distance as this race. With Beyers of 82 and 83 in those wins, Mountain Mambo is a major contender.

Phil Serpe, Mountain Mambo's trainer, is no stranger to The Meadowlands - he was leading trainer here in 1988.

In the Park also won a claimer on the grass last time, although for a much lower tag. She rallied from 10th to pull away to a 1 1/4-length win for a $25,000 tag at Delaware Park. Trained by Graham Motion, In the Park has a record of 2-2-2 in 12 career grass races.

Chablis steps up from the New Jersey-bred ranks to make her turf debut for trainer J. Willard Thompson. She stretched out for the first time in her most recent start and responded with a maiden victory by 8 1/2 widening lengths. With the rail, Chablis should be a major pace factor, especially if the race comes off the grass following a rainy weekend in the New York area.

Candy Striper will make her fifth career start at her fifth different racetrack for trainer Todd Pletcher. A 3-year-old, she most recently won a one-mile maiden race at Laurel.