Open Mind a softer spot for More Than a Party

Monmouth Park has put a nice card together for Sunday, topped by the $60,000 Open Mind Handicap for New Jersey-bred fillies and mares and supported by five optional-claiming races.

A total of 98 horses are entered on the 11-race card, an average of 8.9 per race. Not counting an also-eligible and five main-track-only entrants, the card averages 8.36 horses per race.

The six-furlong Open Mind looks to be a two-horse race between the 4-year-old More Than a Party and the 3-year-old Pinkout.

Despite not having raced since February, More Than a Party will be a short price. A winner of five of 12 starts, More Than a Party most recently finished second to Merry Meadow in the Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie at Gulfstream Park. In her two starts prior to the Hurricane Bertie, More Than a Party scored front-running victories in optional-claiming races.

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Merry Meadow defeated More Than a Party by 9 1/2 lengths in the Hurricane Bertie, but there is no disgrace there. In her two prior starts, Merry Meadow had won the Grade 3 Sugar Swirl at Gulfstream and the $75,000 Sky Beauty at Gulfstream Park West.

More Than a Party was bred and is owned by trainer Eddie Broome and Richard Malouf. Paco Lopez, who has ridden her in 10 of her 12 starts, has the mount.

Following a three-day holiday weekend when he won seven races from 29 mounts, Lopez has taken the lead in the jockey standings and leads both Trevor McCarthy and Abel Castellano Jr. by three wins.

Pinkout, trained by Kevin Sleeter, took 11 tries to win her maiden but comes into the Open Mind off back-to-back wins, including a six-length statebred allowance victory. She is not as quick as More Than a Party but is much improved in her last two starts.

Call Me Kenny returns

Two other races of note on the card are the third, a second-level optional $30,000 claimer, and the sixth, a first-level optional $50,000 claimer for 3-year-olds.

In race 3, Call Me Kenny returns from a seven-month layoff for trainer Patrick McBurney. Call Me Kenny ran in five straight stakes – four of them graded – between July and November. He finished second in the Long Branch at Monmouth and third in both the Indiana Derby at Indiana Grand and the Discovery at Aqueduct.

Call Me Kenny, who won the Spectacular Bid at Gulfstream in January 2014, has every right to be a nice 4-year-old. The six furlongs of Sunday’s race, however, might be a bit short for him.

Race 6 has attracted a competitive field of seven 3-year-olds. The horse to beat in the six-furlong sprint is the Eddie Plesa-trained Mach My Day, who was second to the talented Easy to Say at this level May 10.

Joe Franklin, trained by Kelly Breen, might be the quickest runner in the lineup.