Monmouth | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘More Opportunities’ Leading To Career Year For Trainer Luis Carvajal

Despite the absence of a “big” horse, trainer Luis Carvajal, Jr. has still managed to produce a breakout year in a career that began in 2006. The formula for the success has been pretty basic: More starters than ever before helped produced more winners than he has ever had before.

He doesn't intend slow down yet, either, with horses entered in each of the first two nights of the Monmouth-at-Meadowlands meet that gets underway on Friday, Oct. 1. The six-race, all-turf cards during the seven-day meet will have a first race post time of 7 p.m.

Carvajal will send out Fly Fly Away, one of the likely favorites, in Friday's second race at a mile and a sixteenth, and Le Coste in Saturday's fifth race at one mile.

It's all in an effort to add to what has been a banner year for the 49-year-old native of Santiago, Chile.

“The big difference this year is that I have more owners giving me more horses,” said Carvajal. “More horses mean more opportunities to win.

“It's a lot of work having more horses. But I have a great team. It doesn't matter how many horses you have if you have good help. It makes everything so much easier.”

Carvajal has sent out a career-high 192 starters in 2021, resulting in a personal-best of 30 winners. His increased workload is best reflected in the recently-completed Monmouth Park meet, where he sent out 17 winners from 109 starters compared to nine winners from 61 starters a year ago.

“Yes, this definitely has been my best year,” said Carvajal. “It's a lot of fun when you win races.”

That's saying something since Carvajal campaigned multiple Grade 1 winner Imperial Hint until his retirement in 2020. In 2018 alone, Imperial Hint accounted for $767,500 of Carvajal's $1,115,573 in earnings that year. That remains his high water mark in earnings, with his stable of mostly allowance horses, claimers and maidens producing $805,011 in earnings this year.

“I'm looking for my next big horse,” he said. “That always makes things easier.”

Fly Fly Away, meanwhile, enters Friday on a form spree, with two wins and a pair of seconds in his past four starts.

“The horse is doing good. I think he will run a really good race,” said Carvajal. “My only concern is this will be his first time under the lights. But it's the same for a lot of horses. They have never raced under the lights. We'll see how some of them handle it.”

Carvajal's plans are to stay through the Monmouth-at-Meadowlands Meet, which runs until Oct. 30, and then move his stable to Tampa Downs before returning to Monmouth Park next spring.

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Monmouth-At-Meadowlands Meet Kicks Off Friday

Fifty-nine horses were entered today for the six races on the all-turf card when the Monmouth-at-Meadowlands meet gets underway on Friday, Oct. 1. First race post time throughout the seven-day all-turf meet that spans the month of October will be 7 p.m.

A $40,000 Maiden Special Weight at a mile and a sixteenth headlines the opening day card at the East Rutherford facility.

Jockey Paco Lopez, coming off his eighth riding title at Monmouth Park, where he averaged nearly two wins per day (109 overall) for the 55-day meet, is listed to ride in all six races Friday.

The fourth race on the card, a $7,500 claiming event at a mile and a sixteenth, drew a field of 14 including four alternates.

The Monmouth-at-Meadowlands meet will also hold live racing on Saturday, Oct. 2. The Friday-Saturday schedule will continue on Oct. 8 and 9 before shifting to just Friday on Oct. 15 and then to just Saturday on Oct. 23 and 30.

Six races will be held nightly.

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Pair Of 2-Year-Old Stakes Featured On Closing Day At Monmouth Park

Two-year-olds will take center stage on Sunday at Monmouth Park with a pair of stakes races on the final day of the 55-day meet, which concludes with a 14-race card.

The $500,000 Nownownow Stakes, scheduled for a mile on the grass, and the $100,000 Smoke Glacken, at six furlongs on the main track, will serve as showcases for 2-year-olds, some of which have designs on the Breeders' Cup at Del Mar.

Monmouth Park increased the purse of the Nownownow Stakes from $150,000 to $500,000 in an effort to lure potential Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf hopefuls looking for one last prep.

The Mark Casse-trained Coinage, coming off a win in the Grade 3 With Anticipation Stakes at Saratoga on Sept. 1, heads a 10-horse field in the Nownownow Stakes, which includes first-out winner Dakota Gold. The New York-bred Dakota Gold won his debut for trainer Danny Gargan by 4½ lengths against open Maiden Special Weight company on Sept. 2 at Saratoga.

Midnight Chrome, Grooms All Bizness and There Are No Words come into the race after breaking their maiden on the grass at Monmouth Park in their last start.

The Butch Reid-trained Practical Coach, a first-out winner at Parx on Aug. 25 at six furlongs, heads a field of eight 2-year-olds for the Smoke Glacken Stakes. Swift Tap, a handy debut winner at Monmouth Park on Aug. 11 before finishing fifth in the $200,000 Sapling Stakes, will add blinkers for this start for Hall of Fame trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.

The races for top jockey, trainer and owner all appear to have been decided, with Paco Lopez already clinching his eighth riding title with 100 victories for the meet entering the final three-day weekend of racing. Only Joe Bravo, with 13, has won more riding titles at Monmouth Park.

Wayne Potts enters the final three days of live racing with a 10-win lead (36 to 26) over Kelly Breen in the trainers' race, while Colts Neck Stables LLC has a four-win lead over Mr. Amore Stable (12 to 8) in the quest for top owner honors.

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Gargan Using Monmouth’s Nownownow As Breeders’ Cup Prep For Dakota Gold

Trainer Danny Gargan doesn't ship very often to Monmouth Park, but when he does it's with a purpose. The primary purpose this weekend is to see if Dakota Gold is Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf worthy.

An impressive first-out winner at Saratoga on Sept. 2, the New York-bred Dakota Gold will make his second career start in Sunday's $500,000 Nownownow Stakes, scheduled for one mile on the turf on the closing day of the 55-day meet.

The purse for the Nownownow Stakes was increased from $150,000 to $500,000 in an effort to entice 2-year-olds to use the race as a final stepping stone to the Breeders' Cup Juvenile on Nov. 5 at Del Mar.

“If he can run first or second this race the sky is the limit as to where he goes next,” said Gargan. “I think it's a great idea to make this race this big and with the timing of it (40 days before the Breeders' Cup Juvenile).

“If you're first or second in this race that would probably give you the earnings you need to get into the Breeders' Cup.”

Dakota Gold, a son of Freud-Dakota Kid by Lemon Drop Kid, was impressive in his debut, winning at 5½ furlongs in Maiden Special Weight company by 4½ lengths in a race that was taken off the turf.

“We trained him on the grass, so that's where we were looking to get him started,” said Gargan. “He's a nice quality colt. Just a beautiful animal. We ran him against open company the first time because the timing was right and we wanted to get a race in him. We had him ready.

“When it came off the turf we knew he had also worked well on the dirt so we were fine with it. Sunday he will run either way (on or off the grass).”

Dakota Gold is owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing (Dean and Patti Reeves), which was also a part-owner of Tax, the gelding who won the 2019 Jim Dandy for Gargan and also gave the Louisville, Ky., native his first Kentucky Derby starter that year.

“If Dakota Gold runs first or second I'd be hard-pressed not to go to the Breeders' Cup,” said Gargan. “Dean Reeves and I have been in the Kentucky Derby together. We've run in some big races together. He will take a chance in a big race.

“If this horse runs first or second on Sunday he would have to talk me out of going to the Breeders' Cup because I think the firm turf in California would suit my horse too.”

Gargan's potentially-lucrative Monmouth Park weekend will actually start on Saturday, when he sends out Ice Princess in the $100,000 Violet Stakes, the feature race on a 14-race card.

Scheduled for a mile and a sixteenth on the turf, the Violet Stakes may fall victim to rain that is expected to hit the area on Friday. That's fine with Gargan, since Ice Princess cruised to a four-length win in the slop at Saratoga in allowance company in her last start on Aug. 19.

“If it comes off she is going to run,” said Gargan. “I think she will turf but we're trying to handicap and taking an edge. If it comes off she would be a big favorite.”

A 4-year-old daughter of Palace Malice-Happy Clapper by Awesome Again, Ice Princess was a respectable fourth in her only career turf try on June 17 at Belmont Park. She shows a 4-4-1 line from 13 career starts with lifetime earnings of $308,019.

Six other fillies and mares, three and up, are scheduled to oppose her.

“She's a lightly-race filly. We don't run her a lot,” said Gargan. “She is actually super sound. It's not about soundness. It's more about her body weight and it getting a little too low sometimes.

“She's a pretty cool filly. I think next year will be her best year because she is starting to grow into herself.”

First race post time for Friday, Saturday and Sunday – the final three days of the Monmouth Park meet – is 12:15 p.m.

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