Royal Urn poised to rebound in New Jersey Breeders' Handicap

Fool us once, shame on you. Fool us twice, shame on us.

Indeed, one would be foolish to overlook Royal Urn in the $100,000 New Jersey Breeders’ Handicap on Sunday at Monmouth Park. Folks who bet on his Kelly Breen-trained stablemate Pickin’ Time as the even-money favorite May 15 in the John J. Reilly Handicap felt foolish when Royal Urn swept past and won at 17-1. Royal Urn has since lost two in a row, and in his most recent start, the De Francis Dash at Laurel Park, he finished behind Pickin’ Time. But don’t be fooled – Royal Urn likely is live again in the New Jersey Breeders’.

This six-furlong dash, race 7, is the second of three stakes Sunday on a 10-race card devoted entirely to New Jersey-bred racing. Breen, long a Monmouth fixture, will be a busy man, and not just in the New Jersey Breeders’ Handicap. He has entrants in all three stakes and runs at least one horse in seven races on the card.

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Royal Urn, a 6-year-old by Kantharos, was such a long price in the Reilly because he hadn’t started in 10 months and had raced ineffectively in his two starts during the 2021 Monmouth season. But in July 2020, he’d won the Reilly by more than two lengths, and about seven weeks later he returned with an even more dominant victory in the New Jersey Breeders’.

Royal Urn, co-highweighted at 123 pounds, is 1 for 9 on wet tracks, conditions that prevailed in his last two outings. He’s set for a bounce back at another fair price Sunday, but will have to get past not just Pickin’ Time but the capable No Cents.

No Cents, who carries 122 pounds, finished second in the Reilly, splitting Royal Urn and Pickin’ Time. He was beaten just a half-length while making his first start in nearly 17 months. Trainer Cal Lynch came back to try No Cents in the $100,000 Alapocas Run, an open dirt sprint July 2 at Delaware Park, where No Cents turned in a strong performance to finish third, beaten a nose for second, while facing a higher class of horse than he meets Sunday. He’s well drawn on the outside for a pressing or stalking trip and might even go off favored.

Breen has He’spuregold entered in the $125,000 Charles Hesse III Handicap, which is a dirt race carded for 1 1/16 miles. While He’spuregold classes up just fine in this spot, all 13 of his races have come on grass. He takes a steep drop from the Grade 1 United Nations and has bossed New Jersey-bred turf stakes, but who knows if He’spuregold can transfer any part of his form to dirt.

He’spuregold is by Vancouver out of the graded stakes-class turf mare Smart N Classy. Breen trained a sibling to He’spuregold, Valedictorian, by Temple City. She wound up being a graded stakes winner on turf, and romped on dirt in a first-level allowance race.

He’spuregold carries 121 pounds, giving weight to all but Golden Brown, weighted at 123. Golden Brown easily won the 2019 Hesse and just missed in the 2020 renewal, but has since been campaigned mainly as a sprinter and was no match for He’spuregold finishing second in a turf route July 10.

Also entered is the 2021 Hesse winner Amatteroftime, who ran poorly going seven furlongs in his most recent start, July 19 at Parx Racing. He has a solid chance to rebound at a fair price.

The Hesse goes as race 9 following the $100,000 Eleven North, race 7, a six-furlong dash restricted to fillies and mares. The Eleven North has a weaker field than the other stakes on the card.

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While Alta Velocita figures to be favored, she’s far from invulnerable. The 123-pound highweight, Alta Velocita won the 2021 Eleven North by a nose, and her New Jersey-bred dirt-sprint stakes in May came over a slightly lesser group than this.

Mia’s Crusade, who gets five pounds from Alta Velocita, could mount a strong challenge. She has finished first or second in four of her five starts this year, and in the fifth ran into considerable trouble. The rail draw is not ideal, but Mia’s Crusade might work out a stalking trip while saving ground just behind the speed. She’s 7-2 on the track’s morning line and would be playable Sunday at something like that number.