Private Zone will use Turf Monster as stepping-stone to Breeders' Cup Sprint

California-based trainer Doug O’Neill has shipped Private Zone to Parx Racing for Monday’s Grade 3, $300,000 Turf Monster Handicap, a five-furlong turf sprint. The Turf Monster will be Private Zone’s first start since he finished second to Flat Out in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct last November.

The Turf Monster will be the grass debut for Private Zone, the winner of the Grade 1 Vosburgh at Belmont last September.

“He’s coming off a layoff, and we want to get him to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint,” O’Neill said Thursday. “The timing of this race made it a very attractive prep for us. I worked him on the grass the other day at Del Mar, and he went fantastic. He’s the kind of horse that will run on anything.”

O’Neill said Private Zone’s layoff has done him good.

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“After the Cigar Mile last year, he just got a little light on us weight-wise, and we decided that the best plan would be to give him a good break,” O’Neill said. “He’s put on weight and muscle and really looks great.”

Now 5, Private Zone was imported from Panama in mid-2012. He is owned by the Good Friends Stable, which is managed by former jockey Rene Douglas.

“With Rene, it is all about the horse – to do right by the horse,” O’Neill said. “I have great appreciation for the patience he and the other owners have shown. Private Zone’s ready to run. They deserve props.”

The Turf Monster has attracted a deep group of probables, including the first four finishers from the Grade 3 Parx Dash on July 12: Ben’s Cat, Tightend Touchdown, Marchman, and Bold Thunder.