'Snitch' to face older foes

OCEANPORT, N.J. - Wild Snitch will make her seasonal debut Wednesday in the $50,000 allowance feature for fillies and mares at six furlongs. Trainer Ben Perkins Jr. entered her in the Dearly Precious Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on Saturday, but that race did not go when only four were entered.

Wild Snitch on Wednesday faces the daunting challenge of tackling older, more seasoned mares. She last ran in the Grade 1 Matron Stakes at Belmont Park last September, when she finished second to Storm Flag Flying, who went on to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and the Eclipse Award as divisional champion.

Shannon stable still winning

Peter Shannon, an owner who in 2000 won the Buddy Raines Award for his contributions to Thoroughbred racing in New Jersey, is recovering from an intestinal blockage.

While Shannon recuperates, his stable continues to win. He scored with Fuzzy Abby on Thursday and with Alarm the C.E.O. on Friday.

Both horses, trained by John Forbes, followed a similar pattern: They last raced at Gulfstream Park and were entered at Monmouth for claiming prices below their Florida levels.

Handicappers will be checking to see if the angle holds up with Moon Sprit - owned by Shannon and trained by Forbes - on Wednesday.

Moon Sprit will be tough in the second race. The 3-year-old filly, claimed for $16,000 at Gulfstream in January, last raced at that track for a $14,000 tag. She is entered for $12,500 Wednesday with triple-bug rider Michael Baez set to ride.

The race includes several fillies who also recently arrived from Florida. Nimmer has a class advantage, having last run for $35,000, nearly triple the $12,500 price she carries in this spot.

Bets on Dear Prospector refunded

The Monmouth stewards declared Dear Prospector a non-starter in Saturday's fourth race.

Dear Prospector rushed the gate before the start, forcing the assistant starter to grab a rein. Dear Prospector was still under restraint when the gate opened, and her start was compromised.

All wagers on Dear Prospector were refunded.

The winner of the race was a New Jersey-bred with exceptional breeding. Unbridled's Lady, a daughter of Unbridled Song out of the Rahy mare Sumija, posted her second victory in four starts. Tracy Farmer bought the filly for $270,000 as a yearling, and John Kimmel trains her.

* Plagued by consecutive weekends of heavy rain, Monmouth will try to run its first turf races Wednesday. Two grass races were carded, the sixth and eighth.

* Monmouth now settles into a Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule until Labor Day weekend.