Joevia faces easier task in Long Branch Stakes

The Long Branch, the first of three two-turn dirt stakes for 3-year-olds at the Monmouth Park meeting, is the featured race on a 10-race Mother’s Day card Sunday. The series continues with the $150,000 Pegasus on June 16 and culminates with the $1 million Haskell Invitational on July 20.

Although the seven entrants in the $75,000 Long Branch are not Haskell-ready, they are an interesting, difficult-to-sort-out group whose best days may well lie ahead.

Joevia, who has the inside post in the 1 1/16-mile race, showed promise in his first two starts. Trained by Gregg Sacco, he won his debut at Monmouth last summer and then returned from a seven-month layoff to finish second by a neck to eventual Grade 3 Gotham winner Haikal in the seven-furlong Jimmy Winkfield at Aqueduct in February.

Joevia then finished second to Preakness contender Alwaysmining in the Private Terms Stakes at Laurel Park and in his most recent start finished seventh, disqualified to 11th, in the Wood Memorial. Neither race developed well for him early.

In the Private Terms, Joevia let Alwaysmining go to the lead and settled into second position. At that point, the race basically was over, as Alwaysmining glided along on an uncontested advantage and won by 6 3/4 lengths.

In the Wood, Joevia was sent from post 11 and cut over too soon, bothering Overdeliver, Final Jeopardy, and Tacitus, leading to his disqualification. But his real problem came when he hooked up with Not That Brady in a speed duel and the pair pulled far in front of the rest of the field. He paid the price down the stretch.

Joevia is well placed in the Long Branch, figures to work out a smoother trip, and is the only member of the field stabled at Monmouth. Nik Juarez has a return ride.

Red Gum, based with Kelly Rubley at Fair Hill, tired to sixth behind stablemate Alwaysmining in the Private Terms, but has been given plenty of time to recover from that effort. Prior to the Private Terms, he looked good winning a maiden race and first-level optional claimer, both in the mud at Laurel Park.

Regally Irish, trained by Graham Motion, is from the immediate family of Wood Memorial and Pimlico Special winner Irish War Cry and graded stakes winner Irish Strait. The dam of those two runners, Irish Sovereign, produced two-time winner Irish Score, the dam of Regally Irish.

Regally Irish enters off back-to-back turf wins in the Bridgetown, a six-furlong sprint held over yielding ground at Aqueduct, and a one-mile first-level allowance at Tampa Bay Downs.

It should be noted that while Irish War Cry never raced on turf, he won over dry and wet dirt tracks. Irish Strait is a turf horse but is 1 for 2 on dirt surfaces.

Union’s Destiny, trained by Juan Avila, is hard to judge. He worked a bullet half-mile at Gulfstream Park last Saturday before being sent north. In his last two starts, he finished seventh to Maximum Security in the Florida Derby and sixth to Code of Honor in the Fountain of Youth.