Monmouth: Well-traveled Sweet Emma Rose tackles males in Tyro

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Sweet Emma Rose, a globe-trotting filly, takes on the boys Sunday in the $60,000 Tyro Stakes for 2-year-olds on the turf at Monmouth Park.

The five-furlong Tyro is the prep for the meet’s top juvenile event on Sept. 1: the Grade 3 Sapling Stakes at six furlongs on the main track.

The Tyro, a longtime dirt fixture at Monmouth, has been run on grass in recent years to encourage participation and lure a wider-ranging field.

No one in the Tyro has been farther afield than Sweet Emma Rose.

After debuting for trainer Wesley Ward at Keeneland in April with a nine-length win on the synthetic Polytrack surface, Sweet Emma Rose switched to dirt to tackle the boys in the Rollicking Stakes on the Preakness undercard. She forced the pace before fading to finish fourth as the 2-5 favorite.

Her next stop came in England, for the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes on turf at Royal Ascot against her own sex. She was passed only in the final stages, beaten a mere two lengths in a field of 23.

Sweet Emma Rose will find a compact assemblage of six rivals awaiting her in the Tyro. She got a feel for the course on Wednesday when breezing a half-mile in a leisurely 52.60 seconds.

Angel Serpa has the mount.

Trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. will take two shots at Sweet Emma Rose with the uncoupled duo of Yes I’m Lucky and Run For Logistics.

Yes I’m Lucky, 2 for 2, breaks from the rail with Paco Lopez aboard.

After squeezing out a maiden win here in early June, Yes I’m Lucky rolled to a four-length victory in the Frank Gomez Memorial Stakes at Calder.

Run For Logistics cruised to a 5 1/2-length victory in his lone start here last month.

“They’ve never tried the turf, but sometimes you don’t have a choice,” Plesa said. “Yes I’m Lucky won a stakes race so his pickings are slim. His mother [Whenthedoveflies] won a lot of races on the turf, so I’ll see if that will transfer as far as he’s concerned.

“As for Run for Logistics, he’s by a sire [Bernstein] that throws a lot of turf horses, and again he needs to run. He’s doing good, so we’ll find out how good he is on the turf. They’re both coming into the race great and we’re anxious to try them on the turf.”

Holy Rocker, Manaus, Choctaw Chuck, and Silvertonguedtommy complete the field.