Happy Offering notches first NJ-bred stakes victory with Charles Hesse III
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Happy Offering, a steadily improving gelding trained by Chuck Spina, earned his first New Jersey-bred stakes victory in the $100,000 Charles Hesse III Handicap on Sunday at Monmouth Park.
The 4-year-old gelding has won three of his last four starts at home.
Jockey Paco Lopez swept the three statebred stakes and earned four victories on the card. Monmouth’s leading rider gave Happy Offering an ideal stalking trip in the Hesse, chasing in second and easily kicking past the early pacesetter J J Zo Zo on the far turn.
“I really liked him today,” Spina said. “He ran great sprinting, but he's better around two turns, and the last time he ran around two turns, Paco rode him and he won. I was lucky enough to get him back and it was all good.”
In six starts this year, Happy Offering has finished worse than second only once, when he ran sixth in the $75,000 Irish War Cry Handicap on turf in July. He has won his last three races on dirt, culminating in his 1 1/4-length stakes score at 1 1/16 miles on Saturday. He was bet down to even money and paid $4.20 to win.
The last-out turf stakes winner J J Zo Zo, who held a short lead through an opening quarter-mile in 23.37 seconds and half-mile in 46.69, faded to third on the far turn but re-rallied for trainer Cesar Alcala. He vied with the Rory Huston-trained gelding Forever Chocolate in the stretch and battled back to take second by a length.
The scrap for a minor prize never seemed likely to bother Happy Offering on the lead, though the gelding did cede some late ground while finishing up under Lopez. He completed the 1 1/16-mile distance in 1:43.02.
“He won easy,” Spina said. “I thought he would. I ran seven today and I had some thirds and fourths, but he was the one that I liked the most.”
Spina said he would likely try to enter Happy Offering in at least one more race before giving him the winter to rest.
Eleven North Handicap
La Resolana wasted little time in the $100,000 Eleven North Handicap at Monmouth, hustling to take over on the backstretch and powering clear to win her first stakes by 4 1/4 lengths. It was the most commanding of Lopez’s three stakes victories on the Sunday card.
Since returning in May for trainer Jose Sanchez, the 3-year-old filly has won four straight starts, including a strong effort in a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint in June. She has run on dirt twice since and has rapidly improved into a strong statebred stakes contender.
Lidia Rose, a 22-1 longshot, set the early pace in the Eleven North and completed the opening quarter-mile in 22.16 seconds. Her advantage was short-lived, however, as La Resolana rushed up early on the far turn from third to poke a head in front through a half-mile in 45.09.
In Lopez’s other two stakes victories, he was content to stalk a little longer, but he responded well to his eager filly and had her rolling in the late stages. The 2-1 second choice hit the stretch with a 1 1/2-length lead and drew off unchallenged from there. She completed the six-furlong distance in 1:10.02 and paid $6.40 to win.
Summer’s Comin, the 4-5 favorite trained by Mike Dini, bided her time from a stalking position, but she failed to keep up with the winner and had little to offer in the stretch. She finished second by 1 1/2 lengths over My Two Sophia’s, a 13-1 outsider trained by Peter Synnefias.
New Jersey Breeders Handicap
Cairo Surprise was anything but in the $75,000 New Jersey Breeders Handicap on Sunday, going off as the heavy favorite and taking care of business for trainer Cal Lynch. The gelding has won three of his last four starts, including two New Jersey-bred stakes.
In June, Lynch crashed into the statebred stakes scene at Monmouth when the white-hot Cairo Surprise pulled clear by 6 1/4 lengths in the $80,000 John J. Reilly Handicap. The versatile 3-year-old switched to turf in July and finished third in the $100,000 My Frenchman against open-company rivals.
Back on dirt against New Jersey-breds on Saturday, it did not require much puzzling to find the horse to beat in the six-furlong sprint. Cairo Surprise went off at 1-2 and paid $3 to win.
In the first of Lopez’s three stakes victories on the card, the leading rider stalked in third in the early going, chasing behind the longshots Wildncrazynight and Speaking through a blistering opening quarter-mile in 21.97 seconds and half-mile in 44.55.
When those two front-runners faded on the far turn, Cairo Surprise was quick to take the initiative with a wide move, easily circling the pacesetters. He took a short lead at the top of the stretch and edged away.
Boardwalk Jack, who finished third behind Book’em Danno and Quint’s Brew in the $200,000 Mr. Prospector last time out, gave the favorite work to do late for trainer Eddie Owens Jr. The 4-year-old gelding was a distant runner-up to Cairo Surprise in the Reilly, but he made up far more ground in his third start this year.
The victory might not have come as easily with Boardwalk Jack bearing down, but Cairo Surprise and Lopez were clear and easily found the wire in time. He prevailed by three-quarters of a length, completing the six-furlong distance in 1:09.87.
Speaking, Owens’s other horse in the field, hung on for third at 35-1, winning his prolonged battle with Wildncrazynight and finishing 2 1/4 lengths behind Boardwalk Jack.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.
