Inner Ghost back on home turf

Godolphin homebred Inner Ghost scored a strong maiden win at Monmouth Park, but then was a non-factor in his stakes debut while traveling across the country. The well-bred colt gets a chance to make amends as he gets back to a course and trip he likes in the $100,000 Born to Run Stakes for juvenile turf sprinters, the feature on the holiday Monday card at the Meadowlands-at-Monmouth meet.

Inner Ghost, by Ghostzapper, is the first foal out of the winning Bernardini mare Dreamup, a half-sister to champion juvenile filly Folklore. This is the immediate family of another solid juvenile in Essential Quality, who won the

Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity on Oct. 3 at Keeneland for Godolphin. While that colt is a dirt router, Inner Ghost quickly showed his prowess for turf sprints with a debut victory Aug. 22 at Monmouth, pressing the pace in second and gamely coming between horses to win by a head. The runnerup, It Can Be Done, won his next two outings, including the Nownownow Stakes on Oct. 3 at this meet.

Inner Ghost, who is trained by Mike Stidham, then traveled to California and stretched out from five furlongs to a mile for the Del Mar Juvenile Turf on Sept. 7. He was fractious in the gate and never a factor while finishing 10th. Since that trip, Inner Ghost has fired two sharp works at Monmouth. The colt also is reunited with Hector

Diaz Jr., who rode him in his debut. The pair drew the rail, placing him in good position to use his speed.

Inner Ghost is one of the likely starters in the Born to Run with prior stakes experience. Singlino won the restricted First State Dash on a sloppy Delaware Park main track. Basso, an eight-length maiden winner, went on to finish third in the Smoke Glacken Stakes on the Monmouth dirt.

Wink has the strongest prior turf form, plus local form, as she won the Colleen Stakes sprinting on the Monmouth turf in August. She traveled to France, where she was second by a length in the Group 3 Prix d’Arenberg. No rider is named on her, or on either of trainer Wesley Ward’s two other entrants in this face. Factoire is coming off a maiden win on the Monmouth turf, while Trade Deal won his maiden at Kentucky Downs. Trade Deal was cross-entered in the Grade 3 Futurity Stakes on Sunday at Belmont, and Ward indicated that he was expected to run there.

Magical Soul, winner of a maiden special weight on the Monmouth turf, maidenclaiming winner Bringing the Heat, and the maiden Town of Gold complete the main body of the field. Dalton, second by a nose in the Smoke Glacken, and Momos, third in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special, are both entered main track only; Momos also was cross-entered in the Futurity. High Limit Room is an also-eligible entrant who would seem likely to draw in.