OCEANPORT, N.J. – Natalie Victoria was the dominant frontrunning winner Sunday of the $82,000 Monmouth Beach Stakes. The race at one mile, 70 yards, for fillies and mares was contested before 23,278 on a picture-perfect afternoon on the Jersey Shore. The crowd was treated to a bravura stakes performance. A $12,500 claim last December by trainer Michelle Nevin for owner James Riccio, Natalie Victoria has three wins in four starts since the barn change. Speed is the name of the game for the 6-year-old, and she employed it to full advantage. Breaking alertly from post 8 in the 10-horse field, Natalie Victoria and jockey Jose Ortiz dictated an honest pace on a warm afternoon. They fended off mild pressure from Fame and Fortune through fractions of 22.92 seconds and 46.18. “When she’s in front, she’s a different filly,” Ortiz said. “She relaxes no matter how fast she goes. When I asked her to go at the three-eighths pole, she responded very well.” Natalie Victoria opened up a clear lead on the final turn and opened a clear advantage. Zucchini Flower, the defending Monmouth Beach champion, took up the chase in the lane. She was game but could not whittle the leader’s advantage. The final margin was 3 1/2 lengths. The time was 1:41.41 on the fast track. Natalie Victoria improved to 10 for 32 with her first stakes victory, paying $8.80 to win as the third choice in the wagering. She is a claim that continues to pay rich dividends. “She’s got a lot of class. She can run,” Riccio said. “She was worth more than $12,500. I won a nine-way shake to get her. She’s really doing well. Michelle’s got her settled down. When she gets the lead, she’s very tough.” Lady Cohiba, the 8-5 favorite, got third. Fame and Fortune was fourth, followed by Call Pat, Celtic Katie, Mass Invasion, Villette, Winiliscious, and The Money Room. There will be a holiday card Monday, starting at 12:50 p.m. Eastern. It will be the final day of the track’s annual Food Truck Festival. ** All is well with Itsmyluckyday following his victory Saturday in the Majestic Light Stakes. “He looks even better now than he did going in,” trainer Eddie Plesa Jr. said Sunday. After the race, Plesa indicated the $1.25 million Metropolitan Handicap two weeks later at Belmont Park might be the next target. Plesa is now leaning strongly toward waiting until July 6 for Monmouth’s Grade 3 Salvator Mile. “Two weeks is a little close,” Plesa said. “If we give him the extra time, there won’t be any excuses.”