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Leader of the Band Rallies Late To Win Monmouth Oaks

Stretching out from six furlongs to 1 1/16 miles for the first time, Edie Meeny Miny Mo looked like she would have no trouble with the extra distance, but Leader of the Band made a big run down the stretch to catch the favorite and win the Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks by two lengths at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J.

Edie Meeny Miny Mo went into the G3 Monmouth Oaks with two wins in two lifetime starts, ready to try stakes company for the first time. Also in the field of nine for the G3 Monmouth Oaks was Leader of the Band, a last-out third behind Crazy Beautiful in the Delaware Oaks. Under jockey Frankie Pennington, Leader of the Band broke cleanly, running seventh behind early leader Coppelia entering the first turn. Edie Meeny Miny Mo took the lead before the first quarter, striding out to a two-length advantage over Midnight Obsession and Coppelia. Repelling a challenge from Midnight Obsession on the final turn, the favorite looked like she might get an easy win in her first race around two turns.

On the final turn, Pennington took Leader of the Band to the outside, the filly accelerating through the stretch to catch Edie Meeny Miny Mo in the race's final strides. Midnight Obsession held on for third. The final time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:43.44.

Leader of the Band paid $22.60, $7.40, and $4.40. Edie Meeny Miny Mo paid $4.00 and $2.60. Midnight Obsession paid $2.80 to show.

Find this race's chart here.

“She ran great. Unfortunately, my other horse (third-place finisher Midnight Obsession) came out a little bit and bothered her at the start, so I thought she would be a little bit closer. But it might have worked out for the best. Paco Lopez had Midnight Obsession a little closer than I expected, because I knew Edie Meeny Mino Mo would probably have to show speed coming out of two sprints. But it all worked out in our favor,” Leader of the Band's trainer John Servis commented after G3 Monmouth Oaks.

“The last time she ran in the Delaware Oaks she didn't get off great. Today she made a great run late. When the pace was up ahead of me, she felt pretty good and I was sitting there and every time I nudged her she was giving me something so I felt pretty comfortable coming out of the three-eighths turn.” Frankie Pennington said post-race. “She clipped heels a little bit after the break and I was a little further back than I wanted to be but she is such a nice horse, she kept chugging and she got the job done.”

Bred in Pennsylvania by owner SMD Limited, Leader of the Band is by Bandbox out of the Sir Cat mare Catsuit. The win in the G3 Monmouth Oaks brings Leader of the Band to two wins in five starts in 2021 and a lifetime record of three wins in seven starts for career earnings of $264,540.

The post Leader of the Band Rallies Late To Win Monmouth Oaks appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Monmouth Stewards Hold Hearing for Prat, Ruling Expected Sunday

Over a teleconference, the Monmouth Park stewards held a hearing with jockey Flavien Prat Thursday morning concerning his ride aboard Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) in the GI Haskell S. run July 17. The stewards called for a hearing after disqualifying Hot Rod Charlie from first place. In a tight finish, Hot Rod Charlie may have come over on Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow), who was in third at the time. Midnight Bourbon fell, tossing his jockey, Paco Lopez. Neither Lopez nor Midnight Bourbon was seriously injured.

According to a Monmouth Park spokesman, the stewards will wrap up the case Sunday and issue a ruling at that time.

“The hearing went fine,” Prat said via text. “I just have to wait now for their decision.”

The New Jersey Racing Commission does not permit its stewards to speak to the media and the section on the commission's website listing rulings has not been working properly for some time.

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Young Bugler A Crowd Favorite At Monmouth Park

For a sport looking to appeal to a younger audience, Dan Minervini is exactly what Thoroughbred racing needs. There's just one problem: Minervini, a constant presence at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J. who can be seen humming, miniature bugle in hand, when track bugler Joe Luckenbill issues the “Call to the Post” 10 minutes prior to each race, is just 5 years old.

So racing will have to wait until he can legally participate.

For now, though, his enthusiasm is contagious.

“I like Monmouth Park more than Chuck E. Cheese,” says Minervini, a Middletown, N.J. resident who aspires to be a bugler, which is why he practices prior to each race by humming along with Luckenbill.

With racing at Monmouth Park taking place Friday through Sunday throughout the summer, Minervini and his family are usually in attendance from the first race to the last, with Dan playing his toy bugle, feeding horses and wishing good luck to the jockeys walking out of the paddock.

He will celebrate his sixth birthday on Sunday at Monmouth Park with a special day that will include an appearance in the announcer's booth, playing the “Call to the Post” prior to the second race, and presenting the trophy in the winner's circle following the second race.

Fans have taken to him as a crowd favorite when they watch him play the bugle each race day.

“Monmouth Park is his happy place, and he never wants to leave,” said Stephanie Minervini, Dan's mother. “When we bring him there, he listens to everything we say since it's his favorite place in the world.”

Dan's love for horse racing started before he was even born, according to his mother. The family's Monmouth Park “lifestyle” was passed down two generations, from Dan's grandfather, who took Dan's father, John, to Monmouth Park when he was little.

As a 2-year-old, Dan made it to Monmouth Park for the first time and could be seen feeding apples and carrots to the outriders' horses as they returned to the tunnel that leads to the track. It was during that time that the youngster first heard horse racing's signature call.

“When he was 2 years old, he was feeding the horses there and that's when he started watching Joe (the bugler),” said Stephanie. “One time we went to Monmouth Park and he started mimicking Joe playing the horn, and since then I think we have been stalking him for the last three years.”

Luckenbill says he enjoys sharing the spotlight prior to each race with Minervini.

“I love when he comes around. He's a great kid and he always says something that makes me laugh when I see him,” Luckenbill said. “I would tell him to continue to come to the track and learn from the people here.”

Horse racing and Monmouth Park have become an integral part of Dan's daily life as well. According to his parents, when he is home, the youngster can be heard announcing races, re-enacting his favorite phrase from announcer Frank Mirahmadi, “And they're off at Monmouth Park!”

In addition to attending the races on each live day, Dan Minervini said he wants to “race the ponies.” According to his mother, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he received riding lessons at a local farm in hopes of one day following in the footsteps of his favorite Monmouth Park jockeys — Nik Juarez, Tomas Mejia, Paco Lopez, and Ferrin Peterson.

Juarez and Mejia have made it a point to seek out Dan on race days, often taking pictures with him and even giving him the race goggles they wore in exchange for high-fives. According to his mother, there have even been occasions when Dan and Mejia have shared popcorn while they talk about the upcoming races on the card.

“It's really nice how the jockeys all come out and speak to him, and it makes a huge difference,” said Stephanie Minervini.

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Doug O’Neill Talks ‘Questionable’ Haskell DQ, Whip Rules On Writers’ Room

Trainer Doug O'Neill experienced the agony and ecstasy of racing early Saturday evening at Monmouth Park, all in the span of less than 10 minutes. First, his star 3-year-old Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) won a hard-fought stretch battle in the GI TVG.com Haskell S., which would have been the colt's first Grade I victory after a handful of near-misses.

But quickly after the race, in which Hot Rod Charlie came in on Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow) and the latter soon stumbled and lost rider Paco Lopez, the red inquiry sign lit up on the toteboard. The stewards eventually disqualified 'Charlie', demoting him to last, a decision O'Neill expressed some issue with while sitting down with the crew from the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland for a wide-ranging discussion Wednesday morning. The podcast can be viewed here; the audio-only version can be found here or on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

“Obviously, I'm so biased, but I thought the disqualification was a little questionable,” he said. “But that's part of the sport, right? It's part of all sports. Sometimes, you think you're safe at home and you're not. It's just a very unfortunate thing, but we're extremely fortunate that both Paco and Midnight Bourbon are OK.”

Debate has raged in the hours and days since the near-disaster in the Haskell about whether or not the whip ban instituted by the New Jersey Racing Commission at Monmouth took away a tool jockey Flavien Prat could have used to prevent the spill. O'Neill, the Green Group Guest of the Week, was cautious with his words, but made clear his disagreement with the new crop rules.

“It's interesting to me how a lot of people make rules who can't really relate to what's going on,” he said. “I wouldn't want to get too involved in the details because I've never been a jockey, but I know a lot of top riders [disagree with the ban]. The riding crop has evolved. It's so ridiculously subtle, and it really just serves as a reminder every now and then. These horses are big animals and the connection between horse and human is strong, but sometimes you need to encourage them to do something you want to do, which a lot of times is to separate from whoever they're running alongside. So yeah, I do wish they'd reconsider that.”

O'Neill, who got choked up on the NBC telecast of the Haskell, explained the roller coaster of emotions he felt from when the gates opened to the time the DQ was announced.

“I'm king of a big softie in that way,” he said. “I got a little emotional seeing Eddie, Hot Rod Charlie's groom, hand off Charlie to Lava Man leaving the paddock, because those two horses have been so amazing to me. I love them both. I watched the race on the apron and never saw anything happen. So I was just elated; I thought we won. All the hard work that Eddie and Johnny and the rest of the team had put in every day leading up to this, I was like, 'Wow, Charlie did it, man. Charlie did it.' Then when I got down there and they said a rider went down, I'm like, 'What?' So that added all kinds of craziness to it and it was a real unique experience. Again, I was just grateful when I heard Paco was going to be OK and that the horse was up running around. So that was all good.”

As for what's next for his current star as he continues to hunt that elusive Grade I, O'Neill was noncommittal, but indicated he was leaning towards either giving Hot Rod Charlie a slight break or running him against elders in the GI TVG Pacific Classic Aug. 21 at Del Mar.

“The beauty of Bill Strauss and Greg Helms and my nephew Patrick, who own him and are very connected with him, is they've been so patient along the way,” he said. “And I think that's why we're seeing a 3-year-old who ran in the Derby who seems like he's just getting better and better. A lot of that, I think, is due to spacing and patience. So under that mindset, I got a feeling that we might not run for a little bit. We'll just have to play it by ear. We're stabled here at beautiful Del Mar Racetrack and Del Mar management's been great. So the Pacific Classic is definitely circled on our calendar, but by no means will we force the issue if we feel we're not ready.”

Elsewhere on Wednesday's podcast, which is also sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, the Minnesota Racehorse Engagement Project and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers broke down a stellar opening week of racing at Saratoga and the injunctive relief Bob Baffert received last week to be able to race in New York.

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