Rainbow Heir eyes Breeders' Cup following N.J. Breeders Handicap win

Rainbow Heir forged up the rail for a 1 1/4-length win over Saucy Don in the $60,000 New Jersey Breeders Handicap on Sunday at Monmouth Park. The race was one of three New Jersey-bred stakes on the program. Bustin Out won the $60,000 Eleven North Handicap for the second year in a row, while Fuzzy Muzzle rolled down the middle of the track to capture the $60,000 Charles Hesse III Handicap.

The New Jersey Breeders Handicap was an about 5 1/2-furlong turf race for 3-year-olds and up. Rainbow Heir ($3.20) was the 127-pound highweight on the strength of a record that included six stakes wins. He was content to track the pace from the inside and in the stretch he shot up the rail while covering the distance on firm ground in 1:02.82.

Antonio Gallardo was aboard Rainbow Heir for trainer Jason Servis, who had a stakes double on the day as he also trains Fuzzy Muzzle. There were no fractional times available for the New Jersey Breeders Handicap.

Rainbow Heir earned $36,000 for his win for breeder and owner New Farm, the Marlton, N.J., operation of Eb and Nancy Novak. Eb Novak said plans are for Rainbow Heir to retire to stud after this season, while there is a chance he could see action in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. The horse this year has second-place finishes in the $125,000 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint and the $200,000 Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup.

“We’ll see what he does between now and then,” Novak said of a potential start in the Breeders’ Cup. “I can tell you that Jason Servis would like to run him in the Breeders’ Cup.”

Rainbow Heir is a son of Wildcat Heir, a Grade 1 winner bred and raced by the Novaks, while Wildcat Heir is a son of Forest Wildcat, a horse raced by the Novaks.

“It’s a good line,” Novak said. “The thing is they’re not big-time routers. They’re basically sprinters. They can stretch out to a mile and they’ve thrown some really good grass horses. Some exceptional grass horses.”

Rainbow Heir has now won 12 of 28 starts and $621,405.

Bustin Out wires Eleven North Stakes

Bustin Out ($4.40) broke like a shot in the Eleven North and went on to a two length victory over Love Came to Town. The race was for fillies and mares over six furlongs, and Bustin Out covered the distance on a fast track in 1:09.27.

“She breaks out of the gate like a Quarter Horse and keeps on going,” Chuck Spina, who trains Bustin Out, told officials with Monmouth.

Jose Ferrer was aboard Bustin Out for his fourth win on the card. He said Bustin Out was a “special filly” and that the win was a particularly meaningful one Sunday.

“My sister passed last week,” Ferrer told officials with Monmouth. “It’s been a very emotional week for me this week.”

Gayle and Joseph Ioia own Bustin Out, who earned $36,000 for the win in the Eleven North. She has now won 9 of 18 starts and $344,132. Bustin Out is a 5-year-old mare by Bustin Stones and she was bred by Dianne Boyken.

Fuzzy Muzzle takes Charles Hesse with late run

Fuzzy Muzzle ($14.40) trailed the field in the Charles Hesse for 3-year-olds and up over 1 1/16 miles before unleashing a strong bid through the stretch for a 3 1/4-length win over 2-5 favorite Chublicious. Last year Fuzzy Muzzle was second in the race and he was the 125-pound highweight on Sunday. Nik Juarez rode the winner for breeder and owner Rock Talk Farm. Fuzzy Muzzle is a son of Closing Argument.