The Stars Were Out At Monmouth Park in 2013

As another year of racing at Monmouth Park has come and gone, it’s fun to look back on some of the more memorable moments of the 2013 racing season.  The great thing about this game is that great memories can be made in a Grade 1 stakes race or in a $5,000 claiming race.  While everyone has their own unique experience at the track, here are a few races and horses that made for another excellent summer of racing on the Jersey Shore.

Not surprisingly, Haskell Invitational day provided the most action-packed card of the summer.  Although the weather appeared threatening for most of the day, the rains held off and allowed the 14 race card to go off unscathed.  As expected, the Haskell was the highlight of the day, with Todd Pletcher’s once-beaten colt Verrazano drawing off to a dominant 9¾ length score over six rivals.  Although Verrazano would subsequently disappoint in the Travers, the 116 Beyer speed figure he earned that day ranks as the highest from any three-year-old in 2013 to date.  Preakness winner Oxbow set the pace over a tiring track before fading to fourth. The Haskell would be Oxbow’s final start of the year, and he is currently being pointed to a 2014 campaign. 

The undercard stakes included impressive open-length scores from Joyful Victory in the Molly Pitcher, Pants On Fire in the Monmouth Cup, and Silver Max in the Oceanport.  Silver Max, of course, recently defeated reigning Horse of the Year Wise Dan in the off-the-turf Shadwell at Keeneland.

The Philip Iselin Stakes—one of Monmouth’s most storied events—did not disappoint in 2013, as those who were at the track on August 18th were treated to a rousing stretch-long battle between Last Gunfighter and San PabloThe former, an odds-on favorite from the Chad Brown barn, moved up to engage last year’s winner, San Pablo, at the top of the stretch and matched strides with his stubborn rival before prevailing by a head at the wire.  Last Gunfighter added the Iselin to his 2013 accomplishments, which already included graded stakes scores in the Excelsior Stakes and the Pimlico Special.  Ridden by Joe Bravo, Last Gunfighter earned his seventh career victory in the Iselin.

Unable to find firm turf in New York, Chad Brown also brought his Grade 1-winning filly Dayatthespa to Monmouth for the Eatontown Handicap on June 29th.  Making her first start since a troubled trip in the Matriarch at Hollywood Park in early May, Dayatthespa set a swift pace over the Monmouth lawn before getting caught by Alan Goldberg-trained Laughing late in the race.  Laughing had not raced since October of last year, but returned ultra-sharp and used her Eatontown victory as a springboard to subsequent scores in the Diana, the Ballston Spa, and the Flower Bowl in New York.  The Irish-bred five-year old-mare is based at Colts Neck Stables, just a few miles from Monmouth Park, and improved her record to two-for-two over the local turf course.

Contested on June 9^th, the Monmouth Stakes fit the definition of a ‘key race’ perfectly.  Of the eight horses who competed in the nine-furlong contest on the turf, five came back to win their next starts, including three Grade 1 wins later in the summer by first and second place finishers Boisterous (Man o’War) and Big Blue Kitten (United Nations and Sword Dancer).  Even if the Monmouth Stakes was presumably run as a prep for the United Nations, it could be argued that it was one of the most contentious turf races held anywhere this summer.

Eye-catching two-year-old performances were not limited to the maiden ranks.  Miss Behaviour drew off to a decisive win in the Sorority Stakes on September 1^st for trainer Phil Schoenthal.  The Pennsylvania-bred filly traveled to New York for her next start and proved that her pace-setting Monmouth tally was not merely a result of the speed-favoring surface, taking the Matron last weekend to run her record to three-for-three.  On the same day, flashy Saratoga maiden winner Dunkin Bend took the Sapling Stakes for trainer Steve Asmussen.