Summer’s Comin had to work hard to become a two-time winner of the $75,000 Spruce Fir Handicap on Saturday at Monmouth Park, dueling with 22-1 longshot Jewel of the Ocean the entire way and grinding home to score by a length. The 5-year-old mare has now won two straight races in front-running fashion, a sharp departure in style for the veteran runner.  “Being in an outside post made the difference,” trainer Mike Dini said. “They couldn’t slow her down. She doesn’t like being inside too many horses. That’s when she gets in trouble. But she was clear the whole race.”  In the first 30 starts of her career, the New Jersey-bred often stalked but only went to the lead once through an opening half-mile, when she made an early move in a paceless edition of the $85,000 Smart N Classy Handicap last year. She faded to eighth that day, but she proved far more competitive when she led every step in a $56,000 allowance at Tampa Bay Downs in April.  :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Back home at Monmouth for the Spruce Fir, a race she won by 4 1/4 lengths last year, the Dini trainee used her early speed to similar effect in statebred company. Red Head Italian and La Resolana scratched, leaving a field of 10, but those absentees had about as much of a chance as most who ran.  Breaking sharply from the 7 post under Francisco Martinez, Summer’s Comin went to the early lead and found an inside position early in the six-furlong sprint. To her outside, Jewel of the Ocean, a 4-year-old filly trained by Chuck Spina, hustled forward and pushed the 2-1 favorite through a brisk opening quarter-mile in 22.35 seconds. No one farther back ever challenged the top pair in what was essentially a two-horse race at every point.  “We get along great,” Martinez said. “She’s more mature as a 5-year-old. She is handling things so well now. She just gets a little shy when she is inside horses. So I tried to keep her clear. She broke so well, we really only had to worry about one other horse.”  Summer’s Comin, the 2-1 favorite, had every possible advantage in her speed duel with Jewel of the Ocean, but her inside position mattered most around the far turn. Martinez urged her to extend her advantage after blowing through a half-mile in 45.38, challenging Jewel of the Ocean and jockey Charlie Marquez to keep up.  But with unexpected heart, the likes of which she had not displayed since last summer, Jewel of the Ocean dug deeper in her first start off a nearly nine-month layoff. The longshot cut back into the leader’s margin and matched strides with her in midstretch, forcing Summer’s Comin to find more for the win.  With a stubborn rival to his outside, Martinez never got a moment’s rest aboard Summer’s Comin, who carried a field-high 125 pounds. The jockey had never lost aboard the mare in two prior starts, however, and he again managed to make the most of her reserves in a gritty victory. She completed the six-furlong distance in 1:11.24 and paid $6 to win.  “[Jewel of the Ocean] was the only one outside of her so she was able to run freely,” Dini said. “I didn’t expect that kind of pressure and I thought a couple of the other horses would be coming running at her late, but they never did.”  My Two Sophia’s, a 31-1 shot trained by Peter Synnefias, rallied from seventh to take third, finishing 4 1/4 lengths behind Jewel of the Ocean. She finished 4 1/2 lengths clear of Mia’s Crusade, another Spina trainee, who ran on for fourth.  Dini said he plans to keep Summer’s Comin in statebred stakes company for the summer, “maybe three more races,” before retiring her.  :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.