Twirling Point noses Move to Gold in Jersey Derby

It was Italy by a nose over France on Saturday at Monmouth Park as Twirling Point, under Frankie Dettori, nipped Move to Gold and Vincent Cheminaud in the $100,000 Jersey Derby.

Twirling Point got a great trip under the legendary Dettori, the Italian native riding Saturday at Monmouth for the first time since the 2007 Breeders’ Cup. Move to Gold came from the back of the pack, making two runs and just missing with an outside rally under Cheminaud, who made a much smaller splash when he moved his tack from France to America in 2022 than when Dettori decamped to Southern California two winters ago.

Twirling Point, finishing between horses, was a nose better than Move to Gold, with Fidelightcayut just a nose behind in third while down nearest the fence. Fidelightcayut ran the best race among the trio, dueling on the lead in this one-mile grass race through a demanding half-mile in 46.87 seconds. His pace rival, Evening News, faded to sixth, but Fidelightcayut stayed on to the wire.

:: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets.

Twirling Point, favored by a tick over Move to Gold, stalked the pace battle while racing in the clear under Dettori. He came to engage the leaders in upper stretch but failed to open daylight, getting his head down only in the last couple strides.

Twirling Point is a homebred who campaigns for George Strawbridge’s Augustin Stables and is trained by Jonathan Thomas, who shipped the colt from Kentucky. He clocked 1:34.76 over a firm course and paid $5.20. Twirling Point is by Twirling Candy out of Kitten’s Point, by Kitten’s Joy, and he won his first stakes race in his third try.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.