Social Queen prevails on short rest

Social Queen uncorked her usual strong rally to ease past Chestoria by a neck and win the Grade 3, $150,000 Eatontown Stakes for fillies and mares Saturday at Monmouth Park.

Social Queen, with Jose Lezcano aboard, improved her record to 4 for 5 on Monmouth's turf course.

In her season debut, the 4-year-old Social Queen won the Politely Stakes here with a similar rally on May 26. Trainer Alan Goldberg would have preferred more time between starts but Social Queen's excellence on the course, and the chance to take home the meet's first graded stakes, was irresistible.

"I think she's a nice horse," Goldberg said. "The only trepidation I had was that the timing was a little close, coming back after running awfully hard the first time out."

Goldberg now plans to give Social Queen a break until Monmouth's Grade 3, $150,000 Matchmaker Stakes on Aug. 3.

Overall, Social Queen ($8) improved to 5 for 11 for the Jayeff B Stables after scoring the biggest win of her career. She ran the 1 1/16 miles on the firm course in 1:40.40.

It was a solid effort from Chestoria with Daniel Centeno up for trainer Billy Badgett Jr. Like Social Queen, Chestoria came from well off the pace. She got the first jump, wresting the lead from the pacesetting Miracle Moment a sixteenth of a mile from the finish, but she could not fend off the relentless Social Queen.

"She's gotten bigger and stronger from her 3-year-old season," Goldberg said. "We always expected her to do good things."

Miracle Moment held on for third, followed by Czarina's Girl; Maddy's Heart; Medley, the 2-1 favorite; Montecito; and Beatrix Kiddo.

Earlier on the card, Cool Coal Man, the Fountain of Youth winner, bounced back from decisive defeats in the Blue Grass Stakes and the Kentucky Derby to beat Atoned by a neck in the $70,000 Spend a Buck Stakes.

Eddie Castro was aboard for trainer Nick Zito as Cool Coal Man ($3.60) ran the mile and 70 yards in 1:41.84. It was another 3-year-old stakes win for the team of Zito and owner Robert LaPenta, who won the Belmont Stakes a week earlier with Da' Tara.