Ziadie hopes to stay hot at Monmouth

OLDSMAR, Fla. - Trainer Kirk Ziadie, who has been dazzling horseplayers and rival trainers here for the past two seasons, will take his show north when this meeting ends.

Ziadie, who won the allowance feature with Boastful on Tuesday to give him 23 wins from just 54 starters at the meet, has 34 stalls at Monmouth Park and will be moving his stable there for the summer.

The son of horseman Ralph Ziadie, Kirk Ziadie struck out on his own several years back, and turned a lot of heads last season when he sent out 19 winners from just 45 starters when stabled at Tampa for the first time. He went back to Calder after that meeting and continued to win at a high percentage the rest of the year, then picked up right where he left off when this meeting started, winning races left and right.

A strong supporting staff - and horses with ability placed in spots where they can win - has put Ziadie in the winner's circle with amazing regularity. He and trainer Mike Zweisler, who has a 44-percent win rate, are winning at clips far above the norm.

The star of the Ziadie string is R Lady Joy, a late-developing 3-year-old filly who came into this meeting as a maiden but has since gone on to win the Florida Oaks in a romp and, more recently, finish third in the Grade 2 Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

Ziadie was pleased with his charge's performance in the Fantasy and thinks the best is still ahead for R Lady Joy.

"I was happy with her race," Ziadie said. "The great thing about this filly is she's still progressing, still maturing, and I think there's the potential for her to get even better. The nice thing about the Fantasy was the fact I think it showed she belongs with graded company. We're looking at several spots and taking it day by day, but right now it looks like there's a 50-50 chance we'll enter her in the Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico."

And how does one win four races from every 10 entrants?

"It's my owners," Ziadie said. "They give me a lot of freedom and allow me to place the horses where I want. There's no underestimating the importance of knowledgeable, practical owners."

Making a good impression

Apprentices Jennifer Schmidt, Jordan Charkoudian, and Reuben Rojas have all made their marks at the current meeting. Schmidt leads the trio with 18 wins despite coming to the meeting late, while Rojas has booted home 14 winners to 13 for Charkoudian.

* Paddock and jockeys' room supervisor Sam Siciliano has been named racing secretary for the Northampton Three County Fair meeting in Massachusetts. The 10-day meet starts Sept. 2.