Introduced needs no particular surface in Politely

Two mares drawn on the outside have an inside track to winning the $75,000 Politely Stakes on Sunday at Monmouth Park. It’s uncertain, however, over which track the Politely will be contested.

The race, for fillies and mares, is carded at five furlongs on turf but the weekend forecast for the northern Jersey Shore calls for plenty of rain; if it holds, the Politely could be run on the main track.

That shouldn’t hinder Introduced, who drew post 10, and Honey I’m Good, who landed post 11, the far outside draw in the Politely’s main body. No Mercy Percy was entered main track-only and at Monmouth such entrants don’t get to draw a post, automatically placed instead outside all the horses entered for turf or dirt.

Introduced, a 5-year-old mare trained by Jorge Duarte Jr. for Richard Santulli’s Colts Neck Stable, is a three-time winner on turf and in her 2021 debut finished a solid fourth April 20 in the License Fee Stakes at Belmont. The mare, by El Padrino, is perfect from three dirt starts, but Duarte himself is quick to point out those wins came in off-the-turf races.

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“We’re running out of our backyards, which is good,” said Duarte, who trains at Colts Neck Farm, a short drive to Monmouth. “She came out of the race in New York well enough. It’ll be interesting to see how it shapes up if it’s off the turf. Really, on this occasion, I’d like it to be on turf and for the turf to be firm.”

Where Introduced shipped from New Jersey to Belmont for the License Fee, Honey I’m Good has been based with trainer Steve Asmussen’s string at Belmont, though Asmussen, after a long absence, is stabled at Monmouth this season. Honey I’m Good ran creditably, notching a win and two thirds in three turf sprints during summer and fall 2019 in New York, but might find her best chance with a rain-off onto dirt, especially if the track is wet. Last June at Belmont, she captured the Harmony Lodge Stakes, earning a career-best 90 Beyer Speed Figure, racing over a muddy strip.

Miss Auramet also merits respect regardless of surface. Trained last summer by Duarte, she returned to trainer Eddie Plesa when connections shipped her from the mid-Atlantic region back to Florida last autumn and starts Sunday for trainer Kathleen O’Connell. Miss Auramet appears to perform better racing on Lasix, which can be administered before the Politely, than without it, and has 2021 performances on turf and dirt that sweetly fit this spot.