If history repeats, Monrow can't lose

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Monrow, who is three for three at Bay Meadows, seems well spotted to win another in the $34,000 allowance feature at a mile on the turf Monday.

The race is restricted to fillies and mares who have not won $3,000 twice other than maiden or claiming. Monrow, having already won at the level, is in for the optional claiming price of $40,000.

A 5-year-old daughter of Fool the Experts, Monrow came off some poor Del Mar races to win back-to-back races at this level last fall. One of those was on the main track, while the other was on the turf.

This year she did virtually the same thing, rebounding from a poor Del Mar effort to win for a $25,000 claiming price here. Trained by Lonnie Arterburn, Monrow is capable of making the small jump in class, and jockey Russell Baze is sticking with her.

The main threats may be Flying Alibi and La Picara. Flying Alibi has run a couple of strong races since returning from a 5 1/2-month vacation, finishing second in an allowance sprint at Pleasanton and then fourth in the Luther Burbank Handicap at Santa Rosa. But she will be trying the turf for the first time. Trained by Rene Amescua, Flying Alibi is sitting on a top try, and her breeding indicates she should handle the new surface.

La Picara, a Chilean-bred filly, will be making her U.S. debut and is hard to classify. She has not started since September, but has won two of her four starts and is now being trained by Neil Drysdale. Her work pattern is solid. It is certainly a good sign that Southern California jockey Brice Blanc has been named to ride.

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