Mooji Moo Jr. pulls upset in off-the-turf Tyro Stakes

Outsider Mooji Moo Jr. relished the speed-friendly slop at Monmouth to graduate in style in Saturday’s $60,900 Tyro Stakes for 2-year-olds, which was taken off the soggy turf.

With Jairo Rendon aboard, Mooji Moo Jr. outran the other speed and set fractions of 22.18 and 45.82 seconds in the five-furlong sprint. The 7-10 favorite, Tybalt, rallied strongly in the final furlong, but Mooji Moo Jr. dug in to win by 1 3/4 lengths in a time of 58.39.

Dalliance weakened along the inside from second to finish third. He was followed by Order and Law, Carotari, Romani, and Mr. Granite.

A New Jersey-bred by Posse, Mooji Moo Jr. was coming off a second-place finish in his debut. Trained by Patrick McBurney, he banked $36,000 for owner-breeder Robert Deckert Jr.