Sacred Life shows he's alive and well in Monmouth Stakes
Sacred Life showed on Saturday that he still has plenty of life left in his 7-year-old legs by surging to a game victory in the Grade 3, $150,000 Monmouth Stakes.
Sacred Life appears to have a fondness for the Monmouth grass course, where he’s now 2 for 2. His first local victory was a four-length romp in the 2020 Oceanport.
He might also have benefitted from a late-career equipment change, trainer Chad Brown having added blinkers to Sacred Life’s race-day equipment in his 25th start, a second-place finish last month in the Fort Marcy at Belmont. The Fort Marcy was contested over a sodden course and Sacred Life prefers the firmer footing he found Saturday in New Jersey, where he was home by 1 1/4 lengths as the even-money favorite.
Ridden by New York-based Manny Franco, Sacred Life found a decent spot racing sixth, covered up by Ever Dangerous while going along in the number 2 path around the first of two turns and down the backstretch. Longshot Epic Bromance, sent to the early lead, set a moderate tempo, going 24.05 and 48.22 while pursued by Safe Conduct.
Going into the far turn, Franco could wait no longer in his spot, coming three paths wide to make his run with Sacred Life, who responded nicely and had reached contention at the quarter pole. Epic Bromance held his spot along the rail and Safe Conduct fought on between horses, but Franco had them both measured and pushed out to a solid score.
“He just floats,” Franco said. “He broke good. I was able to get the position I wanted. and he did the rest.”
Sacred Life ($4.20) was timed in 1:47.10 for 1 1/8 miles over a firm grass course. Safe Conduct edged clear of Epic Bromance, who got third, to earn the place. Tax was a veterinarian’s scratch, Public Sector scratched to start Saturday in the Poker Stakes at Belmont.
Brown trains Sacred Life for Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, Wonder Stables, and Michael Caruso. Bred in France and campaigned there for his first nine starts, Sacred Life is a ridgeling by Siyouni out of Knyazhna, by Montjeu.