Monmouth Park: Pletcher doubles up for Dearly Precious

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Trainer Todd Pletcher has the inside and the outside covered in the highly competitive $75,000 Dearly Precious Stakes for 3-year-old filly sprinters on Sunday at Monmouth Park.

Pletcher sends out Savvy Supreme from the rail in the six-furlong race, while Maple Forest has the outside slot in the seven-horse field.

The deep lineup also includes Bold Affair, who captured the $200,000 Jostle at Parx Racing last time out, and the first three finishers from the Lady Charles Town.

Savvy Supreme has two angles working in her favor: class relief and a cutback in distance. She stepped up to Belmont Park’s Grade 1 Acorn at one mile in her latest effort and ran last in the mud.

The shorter distance should suit her just fine. Her previous races were six-furlong victories, including an overnight stakes at Belmont.

Maple Forest will be making her second straight start at Monmouth. She shipped in from Pletcher’s New York division to run second to Pomeroys Pistol in the Just Smashing Stakes on June 11.

That now looks like a key race after Pomeroys Pistol lost by only a half-length last weekend in the Grade 1 Prioress at Belmont.

Maple Forest remained at Monmouth following the Just Smashing with assistant trainer Anthony Sciametta.

“This race was the plan after her last race,” Sciametta said. “She ran hard last time and has had a couple of easy works here. I think we’ve got her going in the way we want her.”

The two Pletcher runners are uncoupled in the betting. Elvis Trujillo rides Savvy Supreme, while Joe Bravo has the return call on Maple Forest.

Bold Affair is the top earner in the field with $163,020, with 3 wins in 4 starts for Maryland-based trainer Howard Wolfendale. Julien Pimentel will ride.

The finish could not have been much tighter in the Lady Charles Town, where Grand Kisses held on by a neck over Sweet Susan and Moonlit Malibu who dead heated for place.

Amylimehouse was cross-entered in a Monmouth allowance race on Saturday.

Wolf Hill: Zip Quik continues comeback

Zip Quik makes the third start of his comeback in the $65,000 Wolf Hill Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf.

At 2, he ran against top level competition, including D’ Funnybone and Lookin At Lucky before finishing out the campaign in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, where he chipped a knee and nearly foundered while recuperating. It was touch and go if he would survive.

He pulled through, but it cost him the entire 3-year-old season.

Now 4, Zip Quik has run twice this season, winning an allowance race at Gulfstream before turning a poor effort in a statebred allowance at Belmont Park.

Trainer Patrick Biancone is still puzzled by that race.

“It was the first time in his life he took a van in the morning to track,” Biancone said. “He was very anxious all day. When the gate opened, he was dead. He’s a very nice horse. We thought it would be an easy spot for him, but he just did not run.”

Varsity, a winner of 2 of his last 3 races, breaks from the rail for trainer Christophe Clement. This will be his first race since taking a first-level allowance at Gulfstream Park.