Unwritten takes measure of Joey P.
OCEANPORT, N.J. - Unwritten was unyielding, beating Joey P. by three lengths in the for New Jersey-breds on Saturday at Monmouth Park.
In the supporting event, Thunder Brew rallied from far back to win the $94,500 Lamplighter Stakes for 3-year-olds on the turf as Monmouth kicked off the Memorial Day weekend.
Business continued to boom at the meet. The attendance was 13,083 and the total handle from all sources topped $9 million for a second straight Saturday at $9,352,256. The comparable figures for the Saturday of last year's Memorial Day weekend were 10,350 and $4,212,072.
Unwritten shot right to the front in the six-furlong Reilly with Joey P. in hot pursuit. Edgar Prado stepped on the gas pedal as Unwritten hummed along on a blistering 21.93 and 44.45 pace.
He never backed up a step. Leading by two lengths at the top of the stretch, Unwritten ($9.20) widened the advantage through the lane. The time was 1:10.14.
"We knew there was a lot of speed in the race," said Prado. "If we broke well, we figured it would be best to let him go. I just let him run on, and he dug in all the way to the wire."
It was the 11th win in 27 starts for the 6-year-old, who was making his 2010 debut and first start for trainer Rick Dutrow following an off-season transfer from Scott Volk.
Joey P. settled for second in his bid for a fourth Reilly. The 8-year-old gelding broke sharply, unlike his previous start at Charles Town where he hopped out of the gate and trailed throughout. Despite an ideal trip, Joey P. simply was no match, holding second by a half-length over Hop Skip and Away.
"He missed a little time last week," said trainer Ben Perkins, Jr. "It wasn't his normal training thing. He really ran hard, but he was laboring a little bit around the turn."
In the Thunder Brew ($9.20) came rolling late to beat Fantastico Roberto by 1 1/4 lengths.
The colt notched his third win in the last four races. Carlos Marquez Jr. was aboard for trainer Anthony Pecoraro as Thunder Brew covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:40.54.
Paco Lopez, the rider of sixth-place finisher Bank the Eight, lodged a claim of foul against the winner for stretch interference. The stewards disallowed the objection following a video review.