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Jonathan Thomas Seeking Firm Turf For Corelli In Monmouth Stakes

Five starts after getting Corelli, trainer Jonathan Thomas believes he has finally found the key to success for the 6-year-old gelding. At least he hopes he has.

A winner in his 2021 comeback race on April 24 at Pimlico Race Course, Corelli will step up to graded stakes company again when the grass specialist goes in the Grade 3 Monmouth Stakes, the headliner on Saturday's 12-race card at Monmouth Park.

The 13th running of the $150,000 Monmouth Stakes, scheduled for 1 and 1/8th miles on the grass, has attracted a field of 10 plus two alternates.

“We're really pleased with his comeback race,” said Thomas. “We think we've figured him out. We were probably running him too long last year.

“We've tried to kind of re-invent him and encourage him to show a little more turn of foot while also relaxing early on in races.”

After racing in England for his first 10 career starts, Corelli came into Thomas' care last year. Though winless in four starts in 2020, the son of Point of Entry-Vignette by Diesis did manage to get third in the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park at a mile and three-eighths. But that was the extent of his success, with two of his races last year at a mile and three-eighths and one at a mile and a half in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer. All were on the turf.

“I thought he ran well in the United Nations,” said Thomas. “He looked like he was running a winning race and then at the eighth pole he was kind of coming up for air a little bit.

“That's not to say we won't run him back in the United Nations at that distance but I get the feeling he is best suited for a mile and an eighth.”

Cut back to a mile and a sixteenth for his first start this year, Corelli rallied to win by a nose in the $100,000 Henry Clark over a firm turf course.

Thomas also found out something else about the Augustin Stable-owned Corelli from the Sword Dancer: He wants nothing to do with a soft turf course. In his last start in England over a soft grass course Corelli finished 15th. In the Sword Dancer he was fifth in the seven-horse field, beaten 18 lengths.

“The turf was very soft for the Sword Dancer that day,” said Thomas. “We learned with this horse that he is not a soft turf horse. He's a big horse. He does not like the soft ground.”

It's something Thomas will keep in mind for today and tomorrow, since rain is in the forecast for both days, though Saturday's is expected to be sunny with temperatures in the 80s.

“We're keeping he weather in the front of our minds,” Thomas said. “We'll have a much better idea on Friday as to what we're doing.”

The field of 10 for the Monmouth Stakes features three horses trained by Chad Brown (Devamani, Serve the King and Tribhuvan) as well as the Todd Pletcher-trainer Winters Back.

First race post time on Saturday is 12:15 p.m. Full card simulcasting of the Belmont Stakes day program will also be available.

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8-Year-Old Almanaar Repeats In Monmouth Stakes Off Lengthy Layoff

Despite being idle for more than 16 months Almanaar reinforced two well-known beliefs in Saturday's Grade 3 Monmouth Stakes at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. One is that age is just a number. The other is that trainer Chad Brown has the rare ability to have a turf horse ready no matter how long it has been between races.

Almanaar made his 8-year-old debut a winning one in capturing the Monmouth Stakes for the second straight year, rallying stoutly from next-to-last after three quarters of a mile to give Brown a 1-2 finish in the $150,000 feature race on the 11-race card.

The gelded son of Dubawi, who rolled home one length ahead of stablemate Serve the King in the nine-furlong turf stakes, had last raced on May 25, 2019, at Monmouth Park when he won the Monmouth Stakes, then a Grade 2. Prior to that race, his only start in 2019, he had been idle for four months.

None of that mattered as the 3-2 favorite in the field of nine 3-year-olds and up used his strong late kick to overpower the field.

Serve the King finished 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Bal Harbour.

“He has been training well at Belmont the whole time,” said Luis Cabrera, who oversees Brown's string at Monmouth Park. “The guys there really like the way he has been training. So he has been doing well. These type of horses know what to do. They know where the wire is. So you don't worry about the layoff with those types. And he has a lot of class. We know that.

“He ran great. I'm very happy with his performance. I can't say I'm surprised because this horse has been training consistently. He has not missed a work. He was fit and he was ready. Chad always makes sure the horses are 100 percent ready to run.”

Owned by Shadwell Stable, Almanaar won for the eighth time in 21 career starts, a record that includes a victory on the Grade 1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap in 2017.

Though far back in the field early, jockey Joe Bravo said he knew exactly what he was sitting on and tried to be patient through fractions of :48.82 to the half, 1:12.93 to three quarters and 1:37.31 for the opening mile.

The final time for the nine furlongs over a firm turf course was 1:49.22

It was just two weeks ago that Brown trainees finished 1-2 in the $100,000 Violet Stakes on the grass at Monmouth Park, with She's Got You winning off a 12-week layoff.

“Only Chad Brown does this. He's amazing,” said Bravo. “This is the second time this year that he has done this in a stakes race at Monmouth Park by winning off a long layoff. (This is) an old horse but he's a trouper. He's so strong and powerful that I just wanted to give him some daylight turning for home. Class prevailed.”

Almanaar paid $5.00 to win, boosting his career earnings to $900,349.

After the opening half mile, and even after three quarters had been run, Almanaar had just one horse beat until he made his explosive move coming out of the turn, overhauling Bal Harbour while having more than enough in reserve to hold off Serve the King.

Racing resumes at Monmouth Park with a special eight-race holiday card on Monday, Oct. 12, with the $100,000 Born to Run Stakes for 2-year-olds serving as the feature. First race post is 12:50 p.m.

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Nine-Day Meadowlands-At-Monmouth Meet Added To Thoroughbred Racing Calendar

A nine-day Meadowlands-at-Monmouth Park meet will be added to the Thoroughbred racing calendar starting on Preakness Day, Saturday, Oct. 3, pending regulatory approval, it was announced Wednesday.

Live racing will be held Oct. 3 and 4 at Monmouth Park and then every Wednesday and Saturday for the remainder of the month. There will also be a special Columbus Day holiday program on Monday, Oct. 12.

The Meadowlands-at-Monmouth meet will feature a stakes schedule totaling $900,000, highlighted by the Grade 3 Monmouth Stakes at a mile and an eighth on the turf on Oct. 10.

First race post time throughout October will be 12:50 p.m. Parking and admission are free.

Monmouth Park was originally scheduled for a 56-day meet starting May 2, but had that reduced to 37 days starting July 3 because of COVID-19. An additional live racing program was lost due to inclement weather.

The Monmouth Park meeting ends on Sunday, Sept. 27.

The stakes schedule for the Meadowlands-at-Monmouth Park meet:

3-Oct-20: Virgil “Buddy” Raines Stakes – $75,000 – 3 and up – 5 1/2 furlongs (Turf)

4-Oct-20: Nownownow Stakes – $150,000 – 2 YO – 1 Mile (Turf)

7-Oct-20: Lady's Secret Stakes – Listed $100,000 – F & M 3 and up – 1 1/16 miles

10-Oct-20: Monmouth Stakes – G3 $150,000 – 3 and up – 1 1/8 Miles (Turf)

12-Oct-20: Born to Run Stakes – $100,000 – 2 YO – 5 1/2 furlongs (Turf)

14-Oct-20: Jersey Shore Stakes – $100,000 – 3 YO – 6 Furlongs

17-Oct-20: Dan Horn Handicap – NJ Breds $75,000 – 3 and up – 1 1/16 miles (Turf)

21-Oct-20: Smart N Classy Handicap – NJ Breds $75,000 – F & M 3 and up – 1 Mile

24-Oct-20: Pinot Grigio Stakes – NJ Breds $75,000 – F & M 3 and up – 5 1/2 Furlongs (Turf)

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