Tag: monmouth park

Pirate’s Punch Returns To Face Ny Traffic In Saturday’s Salvator Mile

Pirate's Punch and Ny Traffic took turns with impressive performances a year ago at Monmouth Park. Now they'll match their considerable talents in the same race at the track.

Pirate's Punch, idle since the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 7, and Ny Traffic, who made his return to racing on May 2, top a field of 10 for the Grade 3, $150,000 Salvator Mile, the headliner on Monmouth Park's Saturday card.

When last seen at Monmouth Park, Pirate's Punch won the Salvator Mile in 2020 – a race after being disqualified from a victory in the Grade 3 Iselin Stakes. Ny Traffic was second in last year's Grade 1 TVG.com Haskell Stakes, beaten a nose by 2020 Horse of the Year Authentic.

Rounding out the Salvator Mile field are Bal Harbour, Basin, Croatian, Galerio, Green Light Go, Informative, War Stopper and West Will Power.

A 5-year-old Kentucky-bred, Pirate's Punch needed surgery to remove a chip from one of his knees shortly after the Breeders' Cup, with trainer Grant Forster now eager to get him started on his 2021 campaign.

“After his surgery we took our time with him and did the proper rehab. Hopefully we have a foundation in him,” said Forster. “He's doing fantastic. He seems like he's a bigger, stronger horse this year.

“Since we put him back in training he hasn't missed a day of training, hasn't missed a work, hasn't missed a gallop. He has been ultra-consistent and we think we have him ready to run and ready to get back in the game and get going.”

The 4-year-old Ny Traffic, in his first race since the Preakness Stakes on Oct. 3, impressed in his 2021 debut, blazing to a 6¾-length victory in an allowance optional claimer at Belmont Park on May 2.

“He came back in a big way. He won emphatically,” said trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. “We were hoping he would win but we never envisioned he would run like that in his first race back after seven months off.

“It's a long year and he has a lot in front of him. We're hoping this race can be a building block for the year.”

Ny Traffic, a son of Cross Traffic-Mamie Reilly by Graeme Hall, has a 3-3-2 line from 12 career starts, with lifetime earnings of $612,220. Despite that, he has yet to win a graded stakes race.

“He came close (in last year's) Haskell,” said Joseph. “He definitely has a graded stakes win in him. Hopefully it's this year – and maybe this weekend.”

Ny Traffic is owned by John Fanelli, Cash is King LLC, LC Racing, Paul Braverman and Team Hanley.

Pirate's Punch, a son of of Shanghai Bobby-Catch the Moon by Malibu Moon, sports a 5-3-4 line from 18 career starts with $332,751 in earnings. He is owned by Gulliver Racing LLC, Craig W. Drager and Dan Lehan.

Saturday marks the 74th running of the Salvator Mile.

The post Pirate’s Punch Returns To Face Ny Traffic In Saturday’s Salvator Mile appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Argentinian Jockey Maria Scaldaferri ‘Chasing The American Dream’ At Monmouth

Trainer Luis Carvajal has a simple explanation for giving so many unproven – and often inexperienced – jockeys a chance with his horses.

“When you do good things for people it eventually comes back to you,” he said.

Maria Scaldaferri, a native of Argentina who has yet to win in the United States, is the latest aspiring rider to get an opportunity from Carvajal, getting the mount aboard Malibu Life in Friday night's fifth race at Monmouth Park.

It will mark the Monmouth Park debut for the 30-year-old native of Pergamino, Argentina.

“I was looking for an exercise rider and (trainer) Rafael Schistl recommended her to me,” Carvajal said. “So I put her on some horses in the morning and she started working for me. She has done a good job. She wants to ride. She was a jockey in Argentina and she wants to ride in the United States.

“She works hard. She looks good on a horse. The most important thing to me is that she has that edge, that inner drive, to succeed. I'm giving her a chance and we'll see how she does.”

Carvajal has a history of rewarding hard work for jockeys needing a break.

On the June 4 program at Monmouth Park, he gave apprentice Derbe Glass a leg up on Free Flayme.

Two years ago, he put Maria Maysonett on Malekith at Monmouth, resulting in her first career win. Last year he gave Sean Gilpin his first professional mount aboard Now I'm Broke, also at Monmouth Park.

“I like to help people who like to work,” said Carvajal, who has 16 winners overall from 96 starters this year after posting a career-best 24 victories a year ago. “If I see them motivated and working hard I feel like they deserve a chance.

“I always try to put myself in their shoes, thinking that if I worked hard enough someone would give me a chance. So I do what I can to help. It's not like I am putting them on (retired multiple Grade 1 winner) Imperial Hint. But they deserve a shot.”

Scaldaferri, who also rode in Brazil and Peru from 2011 through 2018, is 0-for-21 in the United States, having ridden just once last year.

“Of course I'm excited,” she said. “This is my first time riding at Monmouth Park and everyone has been very helpful. I am chasing the American dream. I know in this country that if you work hard enough people will give you a chance, whether you are a woman or a man.”

Scaldaferri is also working horses for Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer in the mornings.

“As long as I keep working hard I think people will give me a chance,” said, Scaldaferri, who does not have an agent. “I just want to be a jockey and win races.”

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Monmouth Handle Down; Are Whips To Blame?

Because of the pandemic in 2020, six-race cards on Fridays and a run of rainy weather to start this year's meet, apples-to-apples, year-over-year handle comparisons aren't easy to come by at Monmouth. But all indications are that the Jersey Shore track has gotten off to a poor start, and that raises an important question–are bettors staying away because of the new rules that prohibit whipping?

Sunday's card was the first of the meet where all the scheduled races were run on the turf and there was not an abundance of scratches. Despite those favorable conditions, Monmouth handled only $3,333,043 Sunday. There were 11 races and 86 betting interests. Because of COVID-19, there was no racing on that date in 2020. In 2019, $4,317,739 was wagered on a 12-race card that consisted of 94 betting interests. Based on the raw, all-sources total handle for the days, handle in 2021 was off by 22.8% from 2019. Per-race betting fell from $359,811 in 2019 to $303,003 this year, a difference of 15.8%.

“I'm betting a little bit less on Monmouth, about 25% less than normal,” said Jersey-based horseplayer Philip Miller. “There are a number of factors. There have been small fields and the jockey colony isn't great, though it got better once Paco [Lopez] started riding. But, yes, the whips have something to do with it. Everybody is trying to go to the front because they think closers are at a disadvantage without the whip. I don't like that. There are some horses that have a good turn of foot and they don't need the whip. But there are others that really need to be ridden hard and they aren't going to run as well without the whip.”

Dennis Drazin, who heads the management company that operates the track, said it was too early to reach any conclusions regarding how the whip ban may be affecting handle.

“I think the handle numbers were mainly a reflection of the weather,” he said in an email. “Too much rain. Inability to utilize the turf. It's premature to discuss to what extent the new whip rule may effect handle.”

Sunday's numbers continued a troubling pattern for  Monmouth, which has struggled throughout the meet to keep up with past years when it comes to handle.

On the second day of the meet and the first day of the long Memorial Day weekend, Monmouth handled $2,941,677 on a 12-race card. On the same date in 2019, $5,891,308 was bet on a 13-race card. While the races were washed off the turf throughout the first week of Monmouth racing this year, it seems like a stretch to suggest that the lack of grass racing and a few small fields were solely responsible for a decline in handle of nearly $3 million.

On the following day, a Sunday, $2,645,700 was wagered on an 11-race card, $1,278,795 less than what was bet on the same date in 2019. On Memorial Day, Monmouth ran nine races and handled $2,434,241. On the Memorial Day 2019 card, there were 12 races and a handle of $3,628,955.

As was the case during the opening week, the Monmouth races were dominated by favorites. Fifteen of the 28 races run last weekend were won by the favorites and, for the meet, favorites are 29-for-55 (50.8%).

Veteran Jose C. Ferrer leads all riders with nine wins, but his lead probably won't hold up for long. Paco Lopez made his first Monmouth appearance of the year on Saturday and has already won six races from 17 mounts. Joe Bravo, who has won 13 Monmouth riding titles, has refused to ride at the meet because of the whip issue and has said that he will ride at the upcoming Del Mar meet.

The post Monmouth Handle Down; Are Whips To Blame? appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Bravo Shifting Tack To California: With New Crop Rules, He’s Now ‘Jersey No’

Jockey Joe Bravo, a vocal opponent of the strict riding crop rules imposed at Monmouth Park this year by the New Jersey Racing Commission, is heading to Southern California.

The news was first reported on Saturday by HorseRacingNation.com.

Bravo plans to ride the final three days of the Santa Anita meet, which ends on June 20, return to New Jersey to pack up for his westward migration, then arrive at Del Mar about a week before the July 16 opening day at the seaside track.

Bravo will be represented by Matt Nakatani, son of retired jockey Corey Nakatani. Nakatani is also agent for Mario Gutierrez.

“Nick Cosato (of Slam Dunk Racing) mentioned a few things to Joe about me, and the next thing I know we're in business,” Nakatani said. “I told Joe I could use a rider of his caliber and that Del Mar is a great opportunity for us. I think he can compete with any of the top guys here.

“Joe is a world-class turf rider,” he said. “He loves to save ground and split horses. That's turf racing for you. Trainers will appreciate his abilities.”

A third-generation jockey (his father, George, and grandfather, Bartolo, also rode), Bravo, 49, was born in Long Branch, N.J., just a few miles from Monmouth Park, where he's 13 riding titles. Known as “Jersey Joe” to his fans, Bravo opted not to return to Monmouth Park this year when the New Jersey Racing Commission adopted the most stringent riding crop rules in the country, restricting use of the whip to safety purposes only. California's current rule allows six “underhand” strikes with the crop during a race, with no more than two in succession.

First licensed in 1987, Bravo has won 5,488 races and has mount earnings of $188.9 million. Among his 30 Grade 1 victories is the 2019 Breeders' Cup Distaff at Santa Anita aboard Blue Prize.

Nakatani said Bravo intends to stay through this year's Breeders' Cup at Del Mar Nov. 5-6 and which point they will “reassess to see where we stand.” Nakatani added, “I wouldn't tell him to come out here if I didn't believe he had a big chance to do well.”

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