Mia's Crusade must turn back the clock to set record
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If Mia’s Crusade regains form in the $75,000 Spruce Fir Handicap on Saturday at Monmouth Park, she will have the chance to make history. Currently tied for the most New Jersey-bred stakes victories, she could pick up her seventh and take the record outright for trainer Chuck Spina.
Since winning the 2023 edition of the Spruce Fir, Mia’s Crusade has made her mark at home, switching between dirt and turf to make the most of her time against fellow statebreds. She has won 9 of 25 starts and earned nearly $550,000 in purse money.
“She goes short, long, slop, turf, dirt, just all around,” Spina said. “Terrific filly, not a hell of a lot of breeding, and just has been a joy. She’s a runner.”
The 7-year-old mare picked up her sixth stakes victory in the $85,000 Smart N Classy Handicap with an 82 Beyer Speed Figure last June, tying Joey P. for the statebred stakes record. She has not been the same since, however, losing badly in two stakes starts to finish her 2025 campaign.
Spina said she needed the rest and has come back to training with her usual energy. She will tackle six furlongs for the 14th time on Saturday.
“She was off form, had some issues, but she’s doing great,” Spina said. “Look at the two breezes. She had 59 and change [in a five-furlong workout on May 3]. She’s ready and she runs good fresh. She’s won this race a couple of times off a long layoff.”
Spina also entered Jewel of the Ocean in the field of 12 New Jersey-bred fillies and mares. The trainer said she might not be able to stack up to her stablemate, but he expects a strong effort in her 4-year-old debut.
Mia’s Crusade, the Spruce Fir winner in 2023 and 2024, will be rematched against Summer’s Comin, who defeated her in last year’s edition for trainer Mike Dini. The 5-year-old mare ran through the winter at Tampa Bay Downs, most recently notching a gate-to-wire victory in a $56,000 allowance.
“The biggest thing is you can’t get her in tight,” Dini said. “That’s why I like the [7 post]. She was always running from the 1 and 2 hole, where you’re always going to be in trouble.”
Trainer Eddie Owens Jr. also entered two runners in the Spruce Fir. Riding Pretty, a 6-year-old mare, will re-enter statebred stakes company after finishing fifth in the $100,000 Serena’s Song last month. She won two New Jersey-bred stakes last year, including a score over male rivals in the $125,000 Charles Hesse III Handicap.
Rock the Rainbow, Owens’s other runner, is looking for her first victory since August 2024. She most recently finished third in a first-level statebred allowance on May 10.
Red Head Italian made her first start for new trainer Kelly Breen last time out and took a statebred allowance by 4 3/4 lengths. Breen, who is striking at a 36 percent clip in 28 starts at Monmouth, will enter her in stakes company for the first time.
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