monmouth park | Horse Racing Free Tips

Haskell Might Come ‘Too Soon’ For Medina Spirit, Baffert Says

Bob Baffert told the Daily Racing Form on Sunday that the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 17 might not be in play for his Kentucky Derby first-place finisher Medina Spirt. The embattled trainer had previously suggested the Haskell as the colt's likely first start since finishing third in the Preakness Stakes.

“It might get here too soon,” Baffert told DRF. “I freshened him a little bit, but he's training every day.”

The Haskell is a “Win and You're In” race for the Breeders' Cup Classic this fall at Del Mar.

Medina Spirit has only breezed once since the May 15 Preakness, a three-furlong move at Santa Anita in 37.60 seconds on June 14.

The Protonico colt's Derby win is in jeopardy due to a positive post-race test result for betamethasone, a therapeutic medication that is not allowed on race day. Baffert and his attorney have claimed the positive is a result of a topical cream used to treat a case of dermatitis on the colt's hindquarters. Though the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission has not yet held a hearing, required to disqualify Medina Spirit, but Baffert and his attorney have already filed suit against the commission asking a judge to grant further testing of the post-race samples.

Groovy Surprise Graduates to Stakes Winner In Smart N Classy At Monmouth

Trainer Rory Huston wasn't surprised that Groovy Surprise broke through for her first career stakes victory by winning Sunday's $75,000 Smart N Classy Handicap at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

But he was bewildered a bit by how it happened.

Sent to the front almost immediately by jockey Mychel Sanchez, the 4-year-old led virtually every step of the way for a three-quarter length victory over Stay Smart, who hounded her throughout the one-mile race for Jersey-breds.

“The idea was we were going to lay third or fourth and when she went to the lead I was like 'okay, let's see what happens,'” said Huston.

Though Groovy Surprise had shown some speed early in her career, it had never been this much over this long a distance. Sent off at 5-1 in the field of eight fillies and mares 3 and up, she did all of the heavy lifting in the race, flashing under the wire in 1:38.21.

“It's been pretty speed-favoring on the dirt the whole meet, but especially this weekend,” said Sanchez. “A lot of horses that are 1-2-3 early are winning. Last year I saw she showed a little speed in some of her races, so I told Rory Huston I wanted to be close. I didn't have to be on the lead but I wanted to be close to the front.

“She broke really well. Paco Lopez (aboard runner-up Stay Smart) was putting a little pressure on me in the beginning so I thought `I have to go. I have to get clear and get a good spot.' After that, she did it herself. She did it easily.”

A year ago in this race, Groovy Surprise checked in a sluggish sixth. Stay Smart won last year's edition of the Smart N Classy.

But the combination of making the lead on a speed-favoring oval led to a dramatic turnaround.

“I kept thinking they were going to catch her but every time they got near her she drew off again,” said Huston. “She definitely needed her last race (a third-place finish in the Spruce Fir on May 31 in her 2021 debut). She ran well that day but she was a little short. I knew she'd be better this time. She has matured. You can see she is a better horse this year. I still wasn't sure she was going to stay. Most of her races have been sprints.”

A daughter of Giant Surprise-Good and Groovy by Good and Touch, Groovy Surprise posted her third career win from 12 starts. She is owned by Hope Haskell Jones.

Diamond Play, who moved into third place at the half, finished third, a head behind Stay Smart. So the top three finishers raced in that order for the final half-mile.

The field was reduced by one when Princess Georgia, who won the Spruce Fir Stakes in her last start, was a gate scratch.

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Por Que No Sets Pace, Sails To Easy Win In Boiling Spring Stakes At Monmouth

As the lone speed in a short field, trainer Kent Sweezey and jockey Ferrin Peterson weren't about to overthink the strategy with Por Que No in Saturday's $75,000 Boiling Spring Stakes at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

Get to the front, slow down the fractions and leave plenty in reserve. Good in theory but even better in practice, as it turned out.

Por Que No led every step out of the gate and then cruised to a 4½-length victory, posting her fifth win in her past six starts and first in stakes company.

Seasons, the 7-10 favorite in the field of six 3-year-old fillies, faded to third after chasing the slow fractions set by Peterson and Por Que No throughout the mile and a sixteenth turf feature.

“I knew there were some really good horses in this race and my thinking was I need to make them catch me. I'm the speed in the race,” said Peterson, who notched her first stakes win of the meet. “So if I can get the lead, save ground and let her relax – which she did; in the backstretch, she was in her own element – and then take a deep breath and don't stress I thought she would be able to do what she did.

“At the three-eighths pole, I saw out of my peripheral vision another horse coming, so I thought `okay, I've got to make them catch us, I've got to break their confidence.' I shook her up a little and she had another gear. At the top of the lane, she just took off.”

The winning time over a turf course rated firm despite rain showers prior to the race was 1:42.43.

Por Que No, a daughter of Wicked Strong owned by Fano Racing, returned $9.60 to win.

Peterson basically won the race in the opening half, with a first quarter in :25.82 and the half-mile in :49.60. Seasons and jockey Paco Lopez chased most of the way around before fading late. Shantisara, making her U.S. debut for trainer Chad Brown, finished second, three lengths ahead of a tiring Seasons.

“I know she can fight her jockey sometimes, so I was trying to slow her down as much as I could without taking energy away from her,” Peterson said.

Lopez said the moisture in the turf from the rain did not appear to affect Seasons.

“She got frustrated chasing those slow fractions,” he said.

For Sweezey, it marked his first stakes win at Monmouth Park since capturing the Good Magic Stakes with Phat Man in 2019.

“Ferrin was aware we were the lone speed and what the game plan needed to be,” said Sweezey. “I didn't think Paco Lopez would be that close, especially with the slow fractions. We wanted to make (Seasons) catch us. I knew my filly was doing good. I knew she'd be fine on the lead and would last.

“I wasn't worried with the rain before the race. I thought it would make everyone else a little more timid. It wasn't going to affect what we wanted to do. I knew she would be good today and she was.”

Por Que No had raced exclusively at Gulfstream in her first six career starts before Sweezey shipped her north for this race.

He said the ownership group, which owns a house in nearby Monmouth Beach, “wanted to see her run at their home track.”

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Caravel Dazzles In Friday’s Goldwood; Graded Stakes On The Horizon

Owner and trainer Elizabeth Merryman now knows that she has to aim even higher when she decides on the next start for her talented turf sprinting filly Caravel.

The 4-year-old daughter of Mizzen Mast turned in another dazzling – and winning – effort, drawing away with ease to score a 4¼-length victory in Friday night's $75,000 Goldwood Stakes at Monmouth Park.

How good was Caravel in winning for the sixth time in eight career starts? When she flashed across the finish line in a slightly eased-up :54.97 for the five furlongs on the grass she missed the 10-year-old track record by just four-tenths of a second.

“I thought it was brilliant,” Merryman said of the performance by the filly she also bred. “She pulled away like it was nothing. It would be really nice to try graded stakes company with her next. So maybe the (Grade 3) Caress at Saratoga (on July 24). We'll see. With these turf races the weather is everything. She is just a dream. She continues to amaze me every time she races.”

Ridden by Pablo Morales, Caravel broke a tad slow but was able to sit comfortably in fourth early on behind dueling leaders Gotta Go Mo and Victory Kingdom, who ripped off the opening quarter in :20.56. Morales moved Caravel off the rail and outside entering the final turn, with the opening half going in :43.44. He then set her down after Miss Auramet, who was poised to take the lead in mid-stretch over the tiring frontrunners.

But Caravel ran right by Miss Auramet, who was coming off a May 30 victory in the Politely Stakes at Monmouth Park.

“She broke well. I just didn't send her,” said Morales. “I was going to be wherever I was going to be with her because I know she is usually forwardly placed on her own.

“After they sent so hard out of there, showing a ton of speed, I just figured I'd wait a little and get around them and get in the clear because I know how well she finishes. She has a great closing kick.”

Caravel returned $5.80 to win in the field of eight 3-year-old fillies. Miss Auramet held for second, a half-length ahead No Mercy Percy.

Bred in Pennsylvania, Caravel's only two lifetime defeats were third-place finishes on a good and a yielding turf course. She won the Very One Stakes at Pimlico on May 14 in her last start, overcoming traffic issues to do so.

Owner, Breeder and Trainer of Caravel, Elizabeth Merryman gives the thumbs up after winning the Goldwood Stakes at Monmouth Park Racetrack in Oceanport, NJ on Friday June 25, 2021. Photo By Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO

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