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Young, Jamaican-Born Trainer Williams Will Saddle His ‘Dream’ In Monmouth Oaks

It would be more than understandable if Matthew J. Williams was feeling a bit anxious as he prepares to send out Dream Marie in Saturday's Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks, the feature race on Monmouth Park's 13-race card.

He's 24, has just two years of experience as a trainer, has never won a stakes race, and boasts the grand total of 64 starters to this point in his career.

And the nine-horse field of 3-year-old fillies for the 96th edition of the Monmouth Oaks features horses from the barns of Todd Pletcher, Steve Asmussen and Arnaud Delacour.

But Williams says he is able to stay calm as he takes aim at what would be the biggest victory of his young career because he keeps reminding himself of one thing.

“It's the horses running, not us,” he said. “That's a good thing.”

With the top six finishers back from the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks on July 4, as well as fourth-place Acorn Stakes finisher Lucrezia, the Oaks field has several accomplished fillies. Dream Marie, off her second-place finish to Project Whiskey in the Delaware Oaks, where she was beaten a half-length, certainly fits.

“She made a really big run in the Delaware Oaks,” said Williams. “I thought she was going to win coming out of the turn but Project Whiskey (trained by Butch Reid) really dug in. But my filly ran a good race.

“We're hoping we can turn the tables on Project Whiskey but Lucrezia is a horse that I have a lot of respect for, too. She finished ahead of us in the (Grade 2) Gulfstream Park Oaks and I saw her win a 2-year-old stakes race at Tampa and she was really impressive that day.”

Williams, who hails from Kingston, Jamaica, currently has five horses he trains, all owned by his family's Miracles International Trading Inc. stable, and has been Gulfstream Park-based since launching his training career.

His transition to training in the United States has been seamless because of his background.

“My grandfather had a stud farm in Jamaica,” Williams said. “He was a champion breeder for 10 years in Jamaica. He had a lot of Jamaican Classic winners and bred a Triple Crown winner in Jamaica. So growing up I was always involved with horses.”

Dream Marie signaled her arrival as a potential stakes winner after winning a $50,000 starter allowance at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 14, Williams said, following that up with a win in a $75,000 optional claimer on Jan. 20. Williams then decided to try her in the Grade 2 Davona Dale at Gulfstream on Feb. 29.

The daughter of Graydar-Lin Marie by Curlin finished third that day.

“It was time to take a shot with her,” Williams said. “I think she ran well. A couple of things could have gone differently in the race but she ran well. Two good fillies beat her.”

When Dream Marie finished second on May 15 in the Hollywood Wildcat at the Monmouth Oaks distance of a mile and a sixteenth, Williams targeted the Delaware Oaks and Monmouth Oaks for his filly.

Purchased for $25,000 at the OBS March sale in 2019, Dream Marie sports a 3-2-1 line from 10 career starts with lifetime earnings of $150,160.

Joe Bravo is staying aboard, too, after having the mount in the Delaware Oaks.

“It feels good to have Joe want to ride her again,” Williams said. “I don't think any rider is as familiar with a racetrack as Joe is with Monmouth Park.”

For Williams, Dream Marie would be appropriately named if she happens to win Saturday.

“Winning my first stakes race, and my first graded stakes, would mean a lot,” Williams said. “It's something I have dreamed about when I was watching U.S. races on TV in Jamaica. It means a lot to me just to see my name among some of the trainers in this race so winning it would really be something special for me.”

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Motivated By Paralyzed Brother, Jockey Hector Diaz Building On Opportunities At Monmouth Park

Hector Diaz, Jr. has never been willing to settle for second-best ever since his late start on a career as a jockey, but in this instance he's inclined to make an exception.

The 31-year-old journeyman currently sits second in the Monmouth Park jockey standings with 12 wins – well behind runaway leader Paco Lopez, who is on his way to a seventh title at the Shore track with 26 wins, but also ahead of notable veterans Joe Bravo, Jose Ferrer, Antonio Gallardo, Nik Juarez and Trevor McCarthy.

It's potentially a significant achievement for Diaz, who finished fourth in the track's rider standings a year ago.

“Monmouth Park has a great jockey colony. It's a very tough colony,” said Diaz, who is listed on four mounts when racing resumes at Monmouth Park with a six-race twilight card on Friday. “There are so many great riders and I feel grateful to be second now. I know it's going to be competitive and a challenge to stay there.

“I just have to focus on myself and keep working hard and remember that the things that have me second now will be the things that keep me second.”

In part because he is late to the profession, Diaz has an appreciation for every accomplishment now, big or small.

Though he grew up with a father and brother who were jockeys, and with cousins Irad and Jose Ortiz, in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico, Diaz didn't enroll in the Escuela Vocacional Hipica jockey school until he was 23.

“My dad did not want me to be a jockey. But in my heart I knew I always wanted to be a jockey,” Diaz said.

Some of the motivation for finally setting on his professional path came from his brother, Hector Miguel Diaz, who was paralyzed in a spill at Camarero Race Track in Puerto Rico.

“He was just 21 when he was paralyzed,” said Diaz. “I decided that I needed to do this and do it for him.”

Diaz had mixed results as an apprentice in the ultra-competitive New York arena before shifting to Monmouth Park.

“It's hard in New York but I can't say it didn't really work out because of the opportunities I got there,” he said. “If I didn't get those opportunities I might not be getting the opportunities I have now at Monmouth. Those trainers come here to race. They know me. New York was part of the process that has helped me be where I am now.

“I believe you build your career every year and you do that by continuing to work hard. Last year was a good year for me. I won a couple of stakes races and I finished fourth in the standings at Monmouth Park. I think that has helped me get off to a good start this year.”

Diaz, who didn't start riding professionally until he was 27, isn't bashful about his long-term goal.

“I want to be leading rider here someday,” he said. “Paco is tough to beat. He is always tough to beat. So maybe it won't be this year and maybe it won't be next year but I believe I can do it. I always believe in myself. I always bet on me all the time to succeed. I will continue building my career and I won't stop trying to reach my goal.”

Diaz matched his personal best with 74 overall victories last year while earning a career-best $2,802,843. He is certain he can exceed those numbers this year.

“The trainers have been trusting me. That's a big part of this,” he said. “My agent (Shawn Klotz) is doing his job and I am doing my job in the mornings. But it's about opportunities. You've got to work hard to earn those opportunities but owners and trainers have got to support you. They have to give you a shot.”

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Cross Country Pick 5 Ending With Vanderbilt Pays $1,277

Saturday's Cross Country Pick 5 returned $1,277.75 for selecting all five winners for the 50-cent wager. Encompassing action from Saratoga Race Course, Monmouth Park and Woodbine Racetrack, the sequence's total pool was $163,442.

Woodbine kicked off the wager when Afleet Katherine edged Perfection Cat by a head to win Race 9, an allowance for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up. Trained by Kevin Attard, whose Starship Jubilee upset champion Sistercharlie earlier in the day in the Grade 2 Ballston Spa at Saratoga, Afleet Katherine returned $14.50 on a $2 win wager.

Monmouth, located in Oceanport, N.J., hosted the second leg, as Croatian outkicked Lookin at Roses by a head to win a starter handicap going 1 1/16 miles on the main track. Trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer, Croatian paid $3.40 as the favorite on the fast track in Race 11.

Action shifted to historic Saratoga for the third leg, with jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. piloting Turbo Drive to a one-length win in a 1 1/16-mile turf allowance in Race 9. Off at 17-1, the Mike Maker trainee paid $36.60, rallying from 11th after three-quarters of a mile for a furious charge that saw the New York-bred run down the competition in the final furlong.

Back at Woodbine for Race 10, Red Hierarchy cruised to a six-length win in the 6 ½-furlong sprint on the Rexdale, Ontario-based all-weather track. Trained by Jamie Attard, Red Hierarchy went off as the favorite, paying $3.90.

Saratoga was the site of the sequence's lone stakes, as Volatile went gate-to-wire to defeat a four-horse field in the Grade 1, $250,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap in Race 10. Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, the 4-year-old son of Violence improved to 3-for-3 in 2020, completing the six-furlong sprint in 1:09.61. Ridden by Ricardo Santana, Jr., Volatile paid $2.80 as the favorite. The $850,000 purchase at the 2017 Keeneland September Yearling Sale is 5-1-0 in six starts has won four straight.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on track, on ADW platforms, and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

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Vanzzy Rises To The Occasion In Jersey Derby

Trainer Michael Pino was pretty sure he had a stakes-caliber grass horse in Vanzzy. Now he's certain of it.

Sitting an ideal trip behind dueling leaders, Vanzzy shot through an opening along the rail coming out of the final turn and powered his way to a 3½-length victory in Sunday's $100,000 Jersey Derby at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

After a fourth-place finish and then a third in graded stakes races this year in his first two grass tries, the 3-year-old son of Verrazano–Selva by Forest Wildcat had his turf breakthrough in the 77^th edition of the Jersey Derby.

Paco Lopez, Monmouth Park's runaway riding leader, rode the winner, who paid $7.20 in the field of seven. Time for the mile and a sixteenth over a turf course listed as firm was 1:42.30.

“A perfect trip. A great ride by Paco (Lopez),” said Pino. “This horse needs that kind of trip. He's a little antsy early. I was real happy with the ride, real happy with the trip and he punched away like he's getting better. This was his best race yet.

“You can see he is getting better with each race, especially when we can get him to settle like we did.”

Lopez, who said he had the option of taking the lead or settling in with the versatile Vanzzy opted for the latter. He was on the rail, alternating between third and fourth as longshots Island Commish and Bye Bye Melvin dueled through a half in :49.41 and reached the mile together in 1:36.46.

With three horses fanned across the track coming out of the final turn, Lopez found an opening along the rail and Vanzzy exploded through it. Bye Bye Melvin held for second, three-quarters of a length behind the late-running Iris Mias.

“I think you can say that was a perfect trip for this horse,” Lopez said. “Mike left it up to me, but he said this horse can be on the lead if you need him to be. The turf course isn't really fast. It's a little soft. I was just so comfortable with him being on the rail and following horses. I just had to wait for the chance to move.

“You have to make a split-second decision coming out of the turn. Sometimes the rail is open, sometimes it's not. This time it was open for me so I took it. He really responded when he got through and was able to run.”

Owned by Daniel M. Ryan, Vanzzy posted his fourth victory in nine career starts, boosting his lifetime earnings to $232,726.

Pino said the Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs was the next possible destination for Vanzzy.

“We'll play it by ear,” Pino said. “He has become a real solid horse.”

Racing resumes at Monmouth Park with a six-race twilight card on Friday night. First race post time is 5 p.m.

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