Monmouth stakes: Brown, Pletcher get 2 wins each

Todd Pletcher already had won the Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park on Saturday with Tuscan Sky when Grade 1 winner Bright Future rallied for a 1 3/4-length victory in the $155,000, Grade 3 Salvator Mile under strong urging from Javier Castellano.

Bright Future, the 11-10 favorite, showed a dazzling turn of foot to win the Salvator Mile over Coastal Mission. The winning time was 1:36.96, with Bright Future paying $4.20 to win.

“That was a big performance,” said Anthony Sciametta, who handles Pletcher’s Monmouth Park division. “We’re very pleased. The horse was training well at Belmont, so I'm really not surprised.”

Bright Future, a 5-year-old son of Curlin owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable, posted his fifth win from nine career starts. He won the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Saratoga last Sept. 2.

Brown finishes 1-2 in Eatontown

Tax Implications led a 1-2 Chad Brown finish with Maman Joon in the Eatontown Stakes (G3), with the 4-year-old daughter of Mehmas snapping a seven-race losing streak. Her only other career win was a maiden special weight score on the grass at Monmouth Park in her debut on Sept. 11, 2022.

The winning time for the 1 1/16 miles over a turf course listed as firm was 1:43.98. She paid $9.60 to win.

“I think this filly likes a little softer turf,” Brown assistant Luis Cabrera said. “The turf today is a little soft, in my opinion. You can see by some of her past races on softer turf where she ran well against graded-stakes company. We also didn’t have to ship her since her last start was here and we kept her here. That can make a difference. I was a little worried about the slow fractions, but she was close to the leaders. I was worried it wouldn’t help the other one (Maman Joon). There was no pace for her. But she ran well. I think the plan is to go forward in the WinStar Matchmaker Stakes (G3).”

Monmouth Stakes ends with dead heat

The Brown-trained Running Bee, ridden by Vince Cheminaud, wound up in a dead heat with 35-1 shot Fort Washington in the Monmouth Stakes (G3). The winning time for the nine-furlong grass race was 1:48.70.

Running Bee now has a record of 11: 5-3-1 line, with all starts the grass. The 5-year-old son of English Channel is owned by Calumet Farm.

Fort Washington, trained by Shug McGaughey and ridden by Kendrick Carmouche, earned his fourth career victory with the dead heat.

“He has run some decent races before his first start this year,” McGaughey said. “I don’t have any idea why he was that kind of a price (35-1). If you look back, all he had to do was catch a firm turf and I thought he would run well. He just did not like the turf at Churchill his last start. I’m not surprised he ran the way he did. I’m surprised he was as big a price as he was. We’ll see how he comes back but I would think the United Nations (G2) is a possibility. I think he can go even longer. He waits on his rider, like he did today, so I think he can handle a little longer distance.”