Tannery set for season debut in Miss Liberty Stakes

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Under ideal circumstances, Tannery would have defended her title in the Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park. In racing, those best-laid plans often come apart.

Such was the case with Tannery, the winner of the Grade 1 E.P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine last year for trainer Alan Goldberg and owner Richard Santulli. As a result, Tannery makes her season debut Monday in a modest spot, the $75,000 Miss Liberty Stakes, as Monmouth Park closes out the holiday weekend with an 11-race program starting at 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

The Irish-bred 5-year-old faces six rivals in the 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for fillies and mares.

“We are a little behind,” Goldberg said from his training base at nearby Colts Neck Stable. “I was hoping to make the Sheepshead Bay, but we got backed up a little bit with the weather. We had to put off a work for a couple of days. We just couldn’t make it.”

On class, Tannery towers above the Miss Liberty competition. If she has vulnerability, it’s the distance. This is a bit short for a mare who excels at 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 miles.

Goldberg agrees.

“I think so,” he said. “We’re just going to get her started, that’s all. It’s only 10 minutes away. Let’s put her on the van and let her run.”

The Jersey Shore was hit with rain to start the Memorial Day weekend, ensuring that the course will not be firm for the Miss Liberty.

“She likes a little give in the ground,” Goldberg said.

Long term, Goldberg hopes Tannery can adapt to shorter races. If she performs well in the Miss Liberty, Tannery could be pointed to a pair of Grade 1 stakes in New York: the Diana at 1 1/8 miles at Saratoga and the 1 1/4-mile Flower Bowl Invitational in the fall at Belmont Park.

Goldberg has not ruled out a run against boys in Monmouth’s premier grass race, the Grade 1 United Nations on July 6.

Julian Pimentel will be aboard for the first time.

Overheard also starts her season here. She closed out last year with a victory in the Grade 3 Valley View at Keeneland at this same 1 1/16-mile distance. Regular rider Eurico Rosa Da Silva gets the assignment from trainer Malcolm Pierce.

Absolute Crackers, Lonesome Town, Industrial Policy, Zero Game, and Nashly’s Vow complete the field.