Joseph begins Jersey Shore journey in Mr. Prospector

The aptly named Wind of Change marks trainer Saffie Joseph Jr.’s first starter at Monmouth Park since he decided to stable at the New Jersey track this year.

Joseph has 50 stalls at Monmouth and with 30 more at Saratoga will clearly be a significant East Coast presence this summer. Joseph said Monmouth held appeal because of location and a robust stakes program (he plans to start Ny Traffic in the Salvator Mile next month), and Wind of Change is one of eight entrants in the meet’s second stakes, the $100,000 Mr. Prospector over six furlongs on dirt.

Wind of Change has shipped for this start from Joseph’s string at Palm Meadows in Florida, a travel pattern that he plans to use regularly. “If we can’t find a race for a horse in Florida, we can ship to Monmouth and go from there,” he said.

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Joseph is new to Monmouth and Wind of Change is new to Joseph. The 6-year-old Brazilian-bred moved into Joseph’s barn late this winter and made his first start for new connections April 24, finishing second in a Gulfstream allowance race after setting a solid pace. That race’s winner, Miles Ahead, returned to capture a $16,000 starter-allowance race with a 96 Beyer Speed Figure.

Since coming to North America from Brazil, Wind of Change, sixth last summer in the Salvator Mile, mainly has contested races at seven furlongs or one mile. Joseph’s idea has been to make him into a pure sprinter.

“He’s a very good work horse and I thought he’d be able to win first time out. I thought he handled the cutback well and he’s trained forwardly since. He’s not the fastest away from the gate, but I think if he gets to the lead, he’ll take a lot of beating,” said Joseph.

Jockey Jean Diaz Jr. is tasked with setting sail for the front end on Wind of Change, who breaks from post 1.

Jerry Hollendorfer entered two horses, Awesome Anywhere looking stronger here than Croatian. Awesome Anywhere finished second in the 2020 renewal of this race, contested last September and won by Share the Ride.

Nine-year-old Always Sunshine, who didn’t start at all during 2020, returned from a layoff of about two months to win a Belmont $50,000 claiming race on April 22 with a 100 Beyer, though it’s not all that easy envisioning him repeating the performance cutting back from seven furlongs to six and taking a class hike.

New Jersey-bred Golden Brown, a four-time Monmouth winner with a bankroll approaching $600,000, is set to make his first start since November, but connections have an eye on races later in the meet.

“There are no New Jersey-bred races in the early book, and this is kind of a stepping-stone,” said trainer Patrick McBurney. “He’s ready for a race, and if he can lay back and finish, maybe he can pick up a piece.”

◗ Several jockeys that didn’t ride opening day of the Monmouth meet, which is being governed by North America’s strictest prohibitions against use of the whip, are named on Saturday mounts. Among them are Dylan Davis, Nik Juarez, Ferrin Peterson, and Jean Diaz Jr.