Etched Wins Monmouth Cup

A determined Etched held off the on-coming charge of Musket Man to post a neck victory in the Grade 2, $300,000 Monmouth Cup at Monmouth Park on Saturday afternoon.

Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, Etched sat off the fractions of :24 4/5 for the first quarter and :49 4/5 for the half mile set by Chirac. He moved on the leader nearing the quarter pole and was a game racehorse all the way to the wire, stopping the timer in 1:50 1/5 for a mile and an eighth over the fast track.

“This horse seems like he’s getting better and better,” said winning jockey Eddie Castro. “He put in a nice kick when I asked him. He fought back and didn’t want to let the horse (Musket Man) go by us.”

Etched returned $16.20, $4.80 and $4.20 across the board and topped the $41.40 exacta. Odds-on favorite Musket Man paid $2.40 to place and $2.10 to show. It was another five lengths back to Chirac, good for a $4.20 show mutuel.

Eibar Coa, rider of Musket Man, was upbeat about his colt’s performance.

“He’s always been a horse who gets a little confused when he doesn’t have a target,” Coa said. “I told the connections I wouldn’t be afraid to go to the Breeders’ Cup (Nov. 6 at Churchill Downs). All he needs is a horse to run at.”

Owned by Darley Stable, Etched captured this race last year when it was known as the Meadowlands Cup. The Monmouth Cup victory was the seventh in nine starts for Etched, a 5-year-old by Forestry from the Unbridled’s Song mare Unbridled Elaine, who captured the 2001 Breeders’ Cup Distaff. He has now banked $587,586.