Monmouth Park
Monmouth: Native Heir tops in slop
EQUI-PHOTO Native Heir, with Abel Castellano riding, runs past Take Achance On Me to win the Icecapade Stakes at Monmouth Park.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - The conditions shaped up perfectly for Native Heir to capture the $60,000 Icecapade Stakes in the slop. Native Heir relishes a wet track and he caught a surface to his liking as he won for the eighth time in 10 off-track efforts.
Native Heir ($7) dug in gamely to hold off a strong rail bid from Take Achance on Me to prevail by one length.
Two scratches reduced the field to four for the six-furlong, race, which went in 1:10.28.
Native Heir is trained by Mark Shuman for Michael Gill, the meet's leading owner. Abel Castellano rode the winner.
"I saw someone trying to come up the inside but we had enough left to hold him off," Castellano said.