C C's Pal Wins Monmouth Park Feature

Eric Fein’s C C’s Pal, dropping back from graded stakes into allowance company for the first time since January, gained command at the top of the stretch and drew off to score

by a length and a half in Monmouth’s $82,000 feature race on Friday.

The winner, trained by Derek Ryan and ridden by Eibar Coa, raced the mile and a sixteenth in 1:46 4/5 over a fast main track and paid $8.20, $4.60 and $3.80 across the board as second choice in the field of seven fillies and mares.

Debonair Darling, who gained second, three lengths over tiring front-runner East to Eden, paid $6.20 and $5 to place and show, and completed the $47.20 exacta. East to Eden returned $6.40 to show. Tizahit, the 6-5 favorite, never threatened and finished fifth.

This was the first win of the year in six starts for C C’s Pal, a 3-year-old daughter of Alex’s Pal who was coming off a sixth place finish in the Grade 2 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes on May 14. Before that, the bay filly had run second in the Grade 3 Florida Oaks in March and third in the Grade 3 Comely Stakes in April.

East to Eden took command out of the gate, closely followed by Debonair Darling and C C’s Pal. The winner moved into second on the turn, then overtook East to Eden in the stretch, and maintained a comfortable margin to the wire. Debonair Darling was able to get second from East to Eden.