Zucchini Flower primed for Monmouth Beach repeat

OCEANPORT, N.J. – The rematch is on for the $75,000 Monmouth Beach Stakes, the Sunday feature as the holiday weekend continues at Monmouth Park. Zucchini Flower and Winiliscious, the one-two finishers in last year’s edition of the stakes for fillies and mares going a mile and 70 yards, will square off again. The Monmouth Beach headlines a 12-race card starting at 12:50 p.m. Eastern.

Zucchini Flower, a winner last time by 3 3/4 lengths, landed the rail in her bid for a repeat. Winiliscious, trainer Chuck Spina’s successful $7,500 claim two years ago, has the outside post in the 10-horse field.

Zucchini Flower appears perfectly set up by trainer Graham Motion. This will be her second start of the season following an excellent prep, a close-up third in the $100,000 Dahlia Stakes at Pimlico in early April.

Motion employed that same pattern last year: An allowance victory at Pimlico was the prelude to the Monmouth Beach.

Trevor McCarthy has the mount this year instead of Jeremy Rose.

Inclement weather prevented Spina from replicating last year’s game plan with Winiliscious. The 5-year-old Winiliscious tuned up for last season’s Monmouth Beach with a rallying third in a starter allowance during the all-turf meet at Atlantic City Race Course.

Spina entered Winiliscious at Atlantic City last month, but the card was canceled due to heavy rain, washing away her prep race.

This will be her first outing since a sixth at 4-5 in the Iron Lady Stakes in December at Gulfstream Park.

“I was really confident in her running big last year, and she’s training great this year,” Spina said. “I’m going into this race without a prep to get her fit. It’s never easy going into any race off six months away. I had a plan, but it just didn’t work out because of the weather.”

This will launch Winiliscious’s final season. Spina, a co-owner of the mare, said she will be bred to Uncle Mo after this year and then sold in foal.

Navin Mangalee will ride.

Celtic Katie, like Zucchini Flower, exits a race at Pimlico, having routed four rivals in a statebred stakes in late April.

Fame and Fortune is the least-experienced runner in the race, making only her third start while stepping up from a maiden win at Aqueduct for trainer Chad Brown.

Villette, Lady Cohiba, Natalie Victoria, Call Pat, Mass Invasion, and The Money Room complete the field.