Nashly's Vow tries to reward patience in Eatontown

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Patience is a virtue that could pay off with a graded stakes victory Saturday for Nashly’s Vow in the Eatontown Stakes at Monmouth Park.

Nashly’s Vow has the rail in the Grade 3, $100,000 race for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf. The 6-year-old Nashly’s Vow, trained by Larry Murray, will be making only her 11th start in a career plagued by injury.

She faces a competitive field of eight rivals.

Orion Moon is the likely favorite following a pair of near misses in her last two.

The 5-year-old Orion Moon rallied to finish a head behind Coffee Clique at Gulfstream Park in a March allowance, a key race. Coffee Clique came back to win the Grade 2 Distaff Turf Mile at Churchill Downs and the Grade 1 Just a Game Stakes on the Belmont Stakes undercard.[bc_video_id:327815:]

Orion Moon was nailed on the wire most recently in the Grade 3 Beaugay at Belmont. She benefits from the potent combination of trainer Christophe Clement and jockey Joe Bravo. They are 14 for 32 in Monmouth turf races dating back to the 2012 meet.

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Graham Motion sends out the uncoupled duo of Rusty Slipper and Dido.

Rusty Slipper, making her first start since winning Monmouth’s 2013 Little Silver Stakes, is the only runner with a victory over the course.

FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Rusty Slipper (6-1 morning line). Trainer Graham Motion is only 1 for 20 with a $0.52 ROI over the past five years bringing back horses in a route race after a layoff of at least one year. 50 percent have hit the board, though. Click for more details.

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Dido makes her stakes debut on a three-race winning streak.

Nashly’s Vow also is on a streak, having captured allowance races in her last two outings at Pimlico.

A homebred for Howard Bender, Nashly’s Vow is finally healthy enough to tap her potential.

“We were a very long time in getting her to the races,” Murray said. “She had one setback after another. Mr. Bender has always given me plenty of time with horses. Most times, it is rewarded. I’m hoping all of her bad luck is behind her.”

Nashly’s Vow was immature at 2, keeping her from the races. She got kicked by another filly at 3, a gash that wiped out that season.

Nashly’s Vow finally got started at 4, only to break her right front leg.

In her only previous stakes, she set the pace last year in the Lady Baltimore at Laurel, finishing eighth in her only off-the-board finish in 10 races.