Gracelund Gray seeking cleaner trip in Monrovia Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. – The best horse wins most of the time, but one school of thought is that the best horse did not win the prep race for the Grade 3 Monrovia Stakes, a filly-mare hillside sprint Saturday at Santa Anita.

Ag Bullet and Gracelund Gray, one-two over the same course last out, meet again Saturday in the $100,000 Monrovia, Race 9. Eight entered the stakes, and maybe this time Gracelund Gray will have a clean trip. Or maybe, Ag Bullet is simply a better filly.

Anyone viewing a replay of the Feb. 28 Wishing Well Stakes can sympathize with Peter Eurton, trainer of Gracelund Gray.

“In my opinion, the better horse didn’t win that day,” he said.

It was not sour grapes. It was a compromising trip for Gracelund Gray, orchestrated by the rider of Ag Bullet.

“Umberto [Rispoli] did an amazing job keeping [Gracelund Gray] locked up in there,” Eurton said, adding that Rispoli “knew we were the horse to beat. By the time we got out, the race was over.”

Gracelund Gray, the favorite, got stuck inside while Rispoli and Ag Bullet pressed from second and kept Gracelund Gray trapped. Into the lane, Ag Bullet kicked, while Gracelund Gray waited. The result was a victory by Ag Bullet and a tough-trip alibi for Gracelund Gray.

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The tables could turn Saturday, though the Monrovia pace and post positions give the advantage to Ag Bullet again. She breaks from post 6 with speed for a pressing trip. Gracelund Gray gets a rider switch to Juan Hernandez, but is stuck on the rail and must negotiate traffic again.

Ag Bullet and Gracelund Gray are the top contenders in a Monrovia that includes longshot pace-presser Getthemoney, durable Grade 3 winner Chismosa, comeback Grade 3 winner Comanche Country, and multiple stakes winner Lucky Girl. Ice Dancing and Miss Lizzy also are entered.

Richard Baltas trains Ag Bullet, who was off nearly a year before she returned in the Wishing Well. Baltas said Ag Bullet “was training really good, but I wasn’t expecting her to run like that.” The Wishing Well was her third win from five starts, and Baltas expects another top effort Saturday.

“She’s matured, she’s more relaxed than she was last year,” Baltas said. “You can do anything with her.”

One minor flaw is Ag Bullet got antsy inside the gate last time. She has gate-schooled repeatedly since. Rispoli is back aboard the Twirling Candy filly, and Baltas eventually will stretch her to two turns.

“A mile would be ideal for her,” he said.

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Gracelund Gray has won 4 of 14 and finished in the money 3 of 4 starts on the hill, including her Wishing Well runner-up and a close third two starts back in the Grade 3 Las Cienegas.

Chismosa will make her meet-leading fifth stakes start of the season. She won a Grade 3 dirt sprint in January, and last out finished third by less than a length behind Stay and Scam, the program favorite in Thursday’s Grade 3 Wilshire.

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