Rainbow Heir heads full field for Wolf Hill Stakes

Monmouth Park will begin its 50-day meet Saturday with an 11-race card that could have as many as 92 betting interests. A total of 107 horses are eligible to run, counting coupled entries, also eligibles, and main-track-only entrants.

According to Bob Kulina, the president of Darby Development, which operates the Oceanport, N.J., track, Monmouth held 94 fewer races a year ago than in 2015. His goal is to card 34 to 36 races each three-day weekend this season.

The opening-day feature is the $60,000 Wolf Hill, a five-furlong turf sprint that drew a full field of 10, plus four also-eligibles. Up to an inch of rain was forecast for the region Saturday, which could force the day’s four grass races to the main track.

Rainbow Heir, a 7-year-old New Jersey-bred owned by the New Farm of Ebby Novak and trained by Jason Servis, is the horse to beat. The Maryland-based Trevor McCarthy will be in for the mount. He is named on six horses on the program.

Rainbow Heir ran an excellent race two starts back when he finished fast to be second in the Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint on Jan. 28. He never reached contention last time out in the Grade 2 Shakertown at Keeneland.

Delta Bluesman is trained by Jorge Navarro, who is going for his fifth consecutive Monmouth training title. Delta Bluesman will be switching from dirt to turf for the Wolf Hill.

Delta Bluesman finished first in the Decathlon at Monmouth last year but was disqualified to fifth for interference. He went on to win the Grade 2 Smile Sprint at Gulfstream Park in July and the Hall of Fame Stakes at Parx in September.

Eddie Castro, who will be riding at Monmouth for the first time since 2014, has the mount. Castro finished second in the Monmouth rider standings each year from 2007 to 2009. He was third in 2014.

Other contenders include Take Cover and Captain Gaughen.

Kulina, Main Sequence honored

Longtime Monmouth Park executive Bob Kulina has been presented the 2017 Virgil “Buddy” Raines Distinguished Achievement Award for his professionalism and contributions to New Jersey racing.

Kulina has held a number of roles at Monmouth. He was the track’s racing secretary for 15 years before being named general manager of Thoroughbred racing at Monmouth and the Meadowlands. He currently is the president of Darby Development, which since 2012 has operated Monmouth on behalf of the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association.

Main Sequence, the champion older male, champion male turf horse, and a Horse of the Year finalist in 2014, has been inducted into the Monmouth Park Hall of Champions.

Following three seasons of racing primarily in Britain, Main Sequence was sent to trainer Graham Motion for his 5-year-old campaign by the Flaxman Holdings of the Niarchos family. He won the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park in his North American debut and went on to have an undefeated season, winning three other Grade 1 races – the Sword Dancer, Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, and Breeders’ Cup Turf.