Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Pair of sprint stakes draw intriguing casts
There were a pair of 5 1/2-furlong stakes for 3-yearolds in the Monmouth Park condition book this weekend. The $75,000 Decathlon was scheduled for Saturday, and the $75,000 Miss Woodford was to be run the next day. The Decathlon took an extra day to come together, however, so Monmouth race-watchers are in for a Sunday doubleheader.
The 13-race card also includes the fourth and final leg of the Malouf Auto Group starter handicap series for horses who have raced for $16,000 claiming or less in 2018-19. King of Spades, who has won the first three parts of the series and is riding a four-race win streak for trainer Kelly Breen, will attempt to stretch out to 1 3/8 miles on turf while carrying 128 pounds. The 7-year-old will be conceding from seven to 12 pounds to his seven rivals.
The Miss Woodford and Decathlon have drawn some interesting runners. Fancy Dress Party will be favored in the Miss Woodford for trainer Ben Colebrook. She is 4 for 5, with wins in the restricted Glitter Woman at Gulfstream Park in January and the Grade 3 Beaumont at Keeneland in April. She will be first-time Lasix after being beaten for the first time in the Grade 1 Acorn.
The field also includes Lexintonia, who won her career debut at Saratoga for Christophe Clement, and Ka Gee Gee, who seems to finally be figuring out what is expected of her.
Based with Michael DePaulo at Woodbine, it took Ka Gee Gee 11 starts over more than a year to win a maiden race, but once she did she came right back to take an allowance.
The Decathlon is carded as race 3 and will pit the Jorge Navarro-trained First Deal against the Larry Rivellitrained Arlington shipper Dugout. Navarro has already locked up his seventh straight Monmouth training title. Rivelli later this month will win his sixth consecutive Arlington Park title.
First Deal may not be Shancelot, but he has steadily improved for Navarro and is 5 for 8. First Deal comes into the Decathlon off a first-level optional-claiming win with a 92 Beyer Speed Figure and a 3 1/2-length score in the Jersey Shore Stakes, which earned him a 93.
New York-bred Dugout started his career last year with a Saratoga maiden win, a nose victory over Bankit in the Funny Cide, and a three-length score in the New York Breeders’ Futurity at Finger Lakes. He had a chip removed following a sixth-place finish in the Sleepy Hollow last fall at Belmont Park and returned last month with a first-level optional-claiming romp at Arlington Park.
“I want to keep him with straight 3-year-olds as long as I can,” Rivelli said. “It was this race or a New York-bred race against older horses. At this point, for his second start off the layoff, it made sense to keep him with 3-year-olds and this race fit.”
Rivelli also has entered Get Hammered and Strong Will in the seven-horse Decathlon, but Dugout is the most likely to start. Monmouth’s leading rider Nik Juarez is named to ride.
◗ Race 7 on the card also is worthy of note. The mile maiden race for 2-year-olds will match the Jonathan Thomas-trained Dynadrive against the Godolphin homebred Spokesman, who is trained by Mike Stidham, and the Ken Ramsey homebred Artemus Eagle, who is conditioned by Chad Brown.
Thomas is 9 for 16 at the Monmouth meet. Stidham is 11 for 31 since Aug. 24 (35 percent) with four stakes wins. And, Brown, well, he is pretty much unstoppable at Monmouth or anywhere else.
Dynadrive is the horse to beat. He was off slowly going a mile on turf at Colonial Downs in his debut, made a quick brush to the lead in the stretch, then appeared to ease up and was nailed on the wire by The Quantico Kid, who he had previously run past.
The Quantico Kid came back to finish a decent third in the Kitten’s Joy Stakes last Saturday at Colonial. Thomas equips Dynadrive with blinkers Sunday.