Ward repeats successful pattern in Colleen Stakes

Fans of trainer patterns will love this one. In June 2015, trainer Wesley Ward won Monmouth Park’s Colleen Stakes with Ruby Notion, a 2-year-old filly making her first start back in the United Stakes after shipping to Royal Ascot. On Saturday, Ward will try to pull off the same feat with Red Lodge, who looms a heavy favorite in the $60,000 Colleen Stakes.

The Colleen, for juvenile fillies going 5 1/2 furlongs on turf, is the 10th of 11 races on the Saturday card.

A field of eight was assembled for the Colleen, but only two of those runners have ever been on turf, and both won. One is Red Lodge, who won her maiden on grass at Belmont Park before shipping to Britain for the Grade 2 Norfolk Stakes on June 16, when she finished ninth under jockey John Velazquez. The other is Iron Mizz, a gate-to-wire maiden winner against New York-breds at Belmont with Victor Lebron aboard in her latest try. The fact that these two fillies are proven on turf will go a long way with bettors, as success over the surface is always welcome in races for 2-year-olds.

Lebron is back aboard Iron Mizz for trainer Todd Pletcher, while Monmouth Park’s leading rider, Paco Lopez, picks up the mount on Red Lodge.

Harlands Thunder is an interesting entrant. Trained by Bill Mott and to be ridden by Nik Juarez, Harlands Thunder comes off consecutive stakes tries on dirt in New York, first in the Astoria, where she showed speed before tiring to finish sixth, and then in the Schuylerville, where she was third. Of course, her ability to handle turf is unknown, and her pedigree offers few clues in that regard, as her sire never tried the surface and her dam was off the board in her lone start.

But Harlands Thunder did show a bit of a closing kick in her latest, and the presence of several speeds in the field should mean she gets a quick pace to chase.

Colleen, Race 10

KEY CONTENDERS

Red Lodge, by Midshipman

Last 3 Beyers: NA-72-NA

◗ Impressive winner in her turf debut at Belmont two back. She was off the board in her stakes debut last time, but that was very steep competition, and she may not have cared for the soft course.

Iron Mizz, by Mizzen Mast

Last 2 Beyers: 63-56

◗ A slow start cost her in her debut try against open company, but she rebounded nicely in her return with the drop into the New York-bred ranks. She can be expected to be involved from the start with a clean break.