Monmouth Park: Lady Samuri takes Lighthouse Stakes at 9-1

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Lady Samuri glided around the sealed, wet-fast track to win the $77,250 Lighthouse Stakes on Sunday, giving trainer Yvon Belsoeur and jockey Abel Mariano another 9-1 upset in a Monmouth Park stakes race for fillies and mares.

They combined to capture the Blue Sparkler on June 22 with My Place Anytime, a $20.40 winner. The return on Lady Samuri was $20. In both instances, Belsoeur turned an inexpensive claim into a stakes winner.

My Place Anytime was a $5,000 pickup here last summer who has won six times since then. Belsoeur took Lady Samuri, a 4-year-old chestnut, for $10,000 from a winning effort at Tampa Bay Downs in late April. She has captured all three races since then to stretch the winning streak to four.

Belsoeur has been quietly enjoying a standout meet, saddling seven winners from only 20 starters.

Successful Song, the defending Lighthouse champion, broke alertly, as did Lady Samuri from the rail. Elvis Trujillo eased Successful Song back into second, content to let longshot Lady Samuri dictate the pace.

She never relinquished the lead on a slow pace that produced a half-mile in 49.06 seconds and three-quarters in 1:13.20.

Successful Song mounted her bid midway on the final turn, but Lady Samuri had plenty left. She cut the corner strongly and opened up a clear lead.

“I was able to control the pace right from the break,” Mariano said. “At the quarter pole, she switched leads and was gone.”

It was a romp through the lane, as Lady Samuri scored by 8 1/4 lengths over Successful Song, who was another 7 1/2 lengths clear of third-place finisher Withgreatpleasure.

“I had no idea she’d be winning stakes races when we claimed her,” Belsoeur said. “Sometimes you just get lucky.”

The time was 1:45.13 for the 1 1/16 miles.

Little Stitch was fourth, followed by 2-1 favorite Moon Philly, Cash for Clunkers and Winiliscious.