LC Racing, Cash Is King and Gary Barber's Morning Matcha will be seeking to continue a winning tradition when she faces seven rivals in the $300,000, Grade 3 Delaware Oaks this Saturday. The mile and a sixteenth affair has been carded as the sixth race on the card with an approximate post time of 3:00pm.
The Cash Is King/LC Racing ownership group combined with trainer Robert “Butch” Reid, Jr. to win the the Delaware Oaks with Project Whiskey in 2020. Chuck Zacney, the primary owner of Cash Is King which gained national fame by campaigning Delaware Park maiden winner Afleet Alex to the 3-year-old championship in 2005, has won the Delaware Oaks two more times. In 2019, the greater Philadelphia area native won the race with Jaywalk and in 2007, he won the race Moon Catcher with the his CJZ Racing Stable ownership group.
“Getting back to Delaware Park is special for me because that is kind of where it all started for me with Afleet Alex and Tim Ritchey,” said Chuck Zacney. “I have so many wonderful memories from when Afleet Alex ran there, but I have always loved Delaware Park and I always look forward to going there. It is beautiful and I love the atmosphere and the history of the track. It is my favorite racetrack without a doubt. I am looking forward being down there this Saturday.”
Zacney feels good about Morning Matcha, but he also knows winning the prestigious local races is never easy.
“A lot of good horses have raced in the Delaware Oaks,” Zacney said. “We have run some nice ones in the race and we have gotten very lucky through the years. I have been fortunate to win the race three times and with three different trainers (Robert Reid, John Servis & Tim Ritchey). Lets hope it is four times with three different trainers after Saturday. She is an honest and consistent filly, so we are optimistic about our chances to do it again because this is the kind of race you can never win enough and if I can win another, it will be just as special as the first.”
Morning Matcha has a career record of three wins, four seconds and two thirds from 12 starts with earnings of $334,390. In her most recent, the Pennsylvania-bred daughter of Central Banker tried the turf for the first time in her career and finished seventh in the seven furlong $150,000 New York Stallion Stakes at Belmont Park on June 19.
“She is coming into the race perfect,” said trainer Robert “Butch” Reid, Jr. “We are coming into the race on a little short notice but when we tried her on the turf in her last in New York, she did not do a whole lot of running, so she is still pretty fresh which gave us the idea of coming back in two weeks and taking a shot at the Delaware Oaks.”
Previously, Morning Matcha ran sixth in mile and an eighth $250,000 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico on May 20. Her most recent victory was in the in the mile and seventy yard $100,000 Main Line Stakes at Parx on March 8.
Trainer Robert Reid, Jr. is looking forward to the opportunity of winning a second Delaware Oaks.
“I am from South Jersey and I have been coming to Delaware Park since the 1970s and I have been there for quite a few really good Delaware Oaks, so that is a race I would love to win again.”
$300,000 Grade 3 Delaware Oaks
For 3-year-old fillies
at a mile and a sixteenth
| # | HORSE | OWNER | TRAINER | JOCKEY | Wg | ODD |
| 1 | Republique | J&D Fradkin | Saffie Joseph | Tyler Conner | 116 | 6-1 |
| 2 | Midnight Stroll | Gatsas, Hill, Schoenfel | John Terranova II | Eric Cancel | 116 | 5-1 |
| 3 | Shotgun Hottie | Aldabagh & Ganje | William Morey | Trevor McCarthy | 116 | 5/2 |
| 4 | Chardonnay | Speedway Stable | Michael Stidham | Jaime Rodriguez | 116 | 6-1 |
| 5 | Morning Matcha | LC, Cash is King, Barb | Robert Reid Jr | Carol Cedeno | 120 | 6-1 |
| 6 | Sandstone | Susan Moulton | Wayne Catalano | Angel Suarez | 116 | 7/2 |
| 7 | Unadulterated | Respect the Valleys | Brittany Russell | Feargal Lynch | 116 | 8-1 |
| 8 | Frippet | Augustin Stable | Jonathan Thomas | TBD | 116 | 12-1 |
The post Morning Matcha Faces Seven Rivals In Saturday’s Delaware Oaks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
