Solid Friday card at Monmouth
Monmouth Park has put together an interesting card Friday that features a high-level optional-claiming race and a second-level optional claimer for New Jersey-breds. The program concludes with a 2-year-old maiden sprint.
Pool Winner, who strung together five consecutive victories in 2015-16, will make his first start in eight months in race 7. Trained by Alan Goldberg, he is eligible for the five-furlong turf sprint because he has not won a race this year.
Pool Winner, 5, concluded his 3-year-old season with a first-level allowance win and then last year added three more allowance or optional-claiming victories before winning the My Frenchman Stakes at Monmouth.
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On Friday, he will face Snowday, who returned from a winter layoff to win a $25,000 starter turf sprint at Parx for trainer J. Willard Thompson.
In race 6, trainer Jorge Navarro has entered Chubble Maker for a $30,000 claiming price in the second-level main-track sprint race for statebreds. Chubble Maker enters off a victory in a high-level multiple-conditioned New Jersey-bred allowance race.
Earlier on the card in race 2, Navarro will have everybody guessing what to expect from Visionary Ruler, whom he drops from $30,000 claiming to $8,000.
In the 2-year-old maiden race, On the Hassle, who was second in a May 17 Belmont Park maiden race, figures to be a strong favorite for Todd Pletcher.
Kelly Breen, Jane Cibelli, Ben Perkins Jr., and Eddie Plesa Jr. all have interesting first-time starters in the 4 1/2-furlong race.