Rested runners look to fire fresh in Monmouth Beach
The eight entrants in the $75,000 Monmouth Beach Stakes at Monmouth Park on Sunday have plenty of questions to answer.
Half of the field will be making their first start since last year. Another entrant finished third in a stakes at Delaware Park on Wednesday and was entered in this spot the next morning.
Got Lucky and Amblin Easy merit consideration here simply because they are entering the mile-and-70-yard race for fillies and mares in a more straightforward manner.
Got Lucky had a nice 3-year-old season last year for Todd Pletcher, winning a Gulfstream Park maiden race and a Saratoga allowance. Sandwiched between those races, she finished a distant second to eventual 3-year-old filly champion Untapable in the Grade 3 Rachel Alexandra at Fair Grounds and was a well-beaten second to My Miss Sophia in the Grade 2 Gazelle at Aqueduct.
Off from October to January, Got Lucky won a second-level optional-claiming race at Gulfstream in her 4-year-old debut. She finished fifth in her most recent race, the Grade 3 Rampart on Feb. 21. She comes into this race off a pattern of six works at Palm Beach Downs, Belmont Park, and Monmouth.
Amblin Easy was entered in Wednesday’s $50,000 Winter Melody Stakes at Delaware by trainer Butch Reid but was scratched to run here instead. Amblin Easy has won two of her last three starts at Parx in allowance and optional-claiming company. This will be her stakes debut.
Key contenders
Got Lucky (Last 3 Beyers: 80-87-81)
◗ Does her best running from off the pace. If the Monmouth track is favoring speed, it could work against her.
Catch My Drift (Last 3 Beyers: 70-85-81)
◗ Won three of her first four starts last year at 3 before finishing a close second to Dame Dorothy in the Grade 3 Turnback the Alarm at Belmont. Dame Dorothy has won six of eight starts, including the Grade 1 Humana Distaff on Kentucky Derby Day.
◗ Catch My Drift will be making her first start since finishing second in the Comely Stakes on Nov. 29. The Aqueduct track was biased toward inside speed that day, and Catch My Drift was at a clear disadvantage.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 1 Catch My Drift. Trainer Chad Brown is 30-17-3-3 with a $3.13 ROI over the past two years in dirt routes outside of New York with Kendrick Carmouche aboard. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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Montana Native (Last 3 Beyers: 88-89-91)
◗ Has good speed and finished second in the Grade 2 Molly Pitcher at Monmouth and the Grade 3 Obeah at Delaware last summer.
◗ This will be her first start since September for Christophe Clement, but she has had 11 works dating back to March 10 and could fire the first time out.
Tapit’s World (Last 3 Beyers: 81-50-81)
◗ She took the lead on the far turn of Wednesday’s Winter Melody Stakes but was outfinished in the stretch and finished third for trainer Michelle Nevin while making her first start in four months. The winner, Sea Shadow, was impressive and earned a career-best 91 Beyer Speed Figure.
◗ Nevin also has entered Natalie Victoria in this race. Natalie Victoria won the Monmouth Beach a year ago but has started only twice since. This will be her first start since August.
DRF FORMULATOR FACT: No. 2 Tapit’s World. Trainer Michelle Nevin is 17-5-1-5 with a $2.67 ROI over the past two years in dirt races within one week of the previous start. Click for more details. – Mike Hogan
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