Tannery by a head in Miss Liberty

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Tannery had all she could handle in her season debut, coming through with a narrow win Monday in the $74,500 Miss Liberty Stakes at Monmouth Park.

She was a standout on class against four rivals as the only Grade 1 winner in the stakes for fillies and mares on turf.

In other respects, the deck was stacked against her. The Miss Liberty was her first race since a close third against the boys in the Grade 3 Red Smith Handicap last November at Aqueduct. And the 1 1/16-mile distance was much shorter than she prefers.

In the end, she prevailed in a tight finish. Tannery edged Overheard by a head in a three-way photo. The pacesetting Lonesome Town was another head back in the show spot.

It was a paceless affair as Lonesome Town clicked off fractions of 26.16 and 51.22 seconds on the firm course. Tannery, fresh and eager, was a close second, in contrast to her usual dropback style.

Tannery poked a head in front midway on the final turn, but the slow pace kept everyone in the hunt. Lonesome Town fought on gamely to Tannery’s inside while Overheard came charging late after splitting foes. The trio hit the wire in 1:43.97.

Julian Pimentel, aboard Tannery for the first time, was impressed by the 5-year-old.

“She was pretty fresh,” Pimentel said. “She was galloping easy, so I just let her do what she wanted. When I asked her to go, she took off and came home pretty quick.”

This was only the first step in what trainer Alan Goldberg hopes will be a series of more challenging spots down the road.

Tannery remained in New Jersey this winter. Like everyone in the region, she endured a long stretch of brutally cold and wet weather.

“She was kind of late getting started, and we missed some days,” Goldberg said. “We finally got to breeze on the turf.”

The training delay kept Tannery from bidding for a repeat victory in the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park.

As for the future, Goldberg has a number of options. The Grade 2, $200,000 New York Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/4 miles at Belmont on June 28 is under consideration. Or there could be a bigger swing: the Grade 1, $500,000 United Nations Stakes here July 6.

“I’ll run her against the boys,” Goldberg said. “I’m not scared. She’s a good filly.”

The Miss Liberty was the third North American stakes victory for the Irish-bred mare owned by Richard Santulli. In addition to the Sheepshead Bay, Tannery captured the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor at Woodbine last October. Overall, she is 7 for 21.

Tannery, the slight betting favorite of the crowd of 10,212 celebrating the conclusion of the holiday weekend, paid $5.60 to win.

The race also was a good tune-up for Overheard, also making her first start of the season. She was last seen winning the Grade 3 Valley View at Keeneland in October.

Industrial Policy was fourth, followed by Zero Game.

Get Serious back in training

Get Serious is back in training at Monmouth, preparing for his 10-year-old season.

The gelding is one of the more popular and successful turf horses to race here in recent seasons. A three-time winner of the Grade 3 Red Bank Stakes, his finest moments came in the summer of 2010, when he captured three Grade 3s in one meet: the Red Bank, the Monmouth Stakes, and the Oceanport Stakes.

He has not raced since early March 2013 at Gulfstream, where he wrenched an ankle. Recent ultrasounds were clear, so it’s back to the races.

If all goes well, trainer Pat McBurney hopes to have the veteran ready for the races in July.

“If there are any setbacks, he’ll be retired,” McBurney said.

• Racing resumes here next weekend with programs Saturday and Sunday. Monmouth shifts to a Friday-through-Sunday schedule starting June 6.