Whimsical Muse upsets Miss Liberty under nicely timed ride by Albin Jiminez
For the second day in a row, a horse only recently removed from the claiming ranks won a six-figure stakes race at Monmouth Park.
Sunday, Fuerteventura, a $30,000 claimer a couple starts back, captured the Jersey Derby, and on Monday it was Whimsical Muse posting a 25-1 upset in the $102,000 Miss Liberty.
Whimsical Muse was claimed three races and five months ago for $35,000 by trainer Kelly Breen for owners USA Thoroughbreds and Cavallino Racing. She’d been sixth for a $62,500 tag in her first start for new connections and sixth again racing under allowance conditions April 23 at Keeneland. But under a perfect trip engineered Monday by jockey Albin Jimenez, Whimsical Muse just did hold off 6-5 favorite Vigilantes Way, who had anything but a perfect trip.
With the temporary rail set at 36 feet on a firm turf course, Por Que No, who would play no major part in the end, set out for the lead and laid down honest fractions of 23.57 and 47.46. Jimenez slid Whimsical Muse into the pocket, just behind the speed, and when Ballymore Speed lost her two-wide pressing position past the three-furlong marker, Jimenez played his hand. Whimsical Muse disposed of Por Que No and went gamely to the finish, clocking 1:40.59 for 1 1/16 miles and lighting up the tote at $52.40.
Flippant made a solid 4-year-old debut coming home just a neck behind Vigilantes Way. Rocky Sky, the 8-5 second choice, was caught three paths wide with no cover on both turns and finished a tepid fourth.
“Today we just happened to be at the right spot at the right time. I told Albin [Jimenez] to keep her out of traffic a little bit and keep her forwardly placed into the race. He sat in a good spot, and she finished well,” Breen said. “Let’s say I was pleasantly pleased by this because she had been training well and she’s just a nice horse.”
Whimsical Muse is a 6-year-old mare by Oxbow out of Ireland, by Afleet Alex, who was bred by Calumet Farm. She was claimed for $30,000 as a maiden and claimed again for $40,000 in January 2021, and now is a stakes winner.
As for Vigilantes Way, who won this race when it was run last August, she had trouble from the start in her 2022 debut. Breaking from post 1, Vigilantes Way had a chance to get into the spot Whimsical Muse wound up occupying but was taken farther back off the leader, steadying before the first turn as Whimsical Muse was guided down to the rail. Vigilantes Way got through along the fence as Whimsical Muse made her move on the far turn, but the mare found more trouble through the stretch run, finishing with interest to come up just short.