Occult cruises, wins by 10 1/4 lengths in Monmouth Oaks
If any other New York-based trainers call Feargal Lynch about riding in a stakes race at Monmouth Park in the near future, there probably won’t be any hesitation on the jockey’s part to leave the Maryland circuit to do so.
Lynch swept the two stakes races on Monmouth Park’s Saturday card, rolling to 10 1/4-length romp aboard Chad Brown-trained Occult in the Grade 3, $262,500 Monmouth Oaks one race after guiding George Weaver-trained Amidst Waves to a 1 1/4-length victory in the $106,000 Colleen Stakes.
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Occult, third in the Acorn (G1) in her last start seven weeks ago, made a bold move around the turn in the 1 1/16-mile race and quickly left the nine other 3-year-old fillies in her wake in the 99th running of the Monmouth Oaks.
The winning time was 1:45.74.
“She’s a very big filly who needs time to find her stride and get into a nice rhythm,” Lynch said. “She’ll keep going all day once she gets into her stride, so stamina was never an issue with her. I saw there was some cheap speed in here, so I let them go. At the half-mile pole I was just trying to find a way clear.
“Because she’s such a big striding filly, you think you’re going nowhere. But when I watch the replay, I am sure I will be impressed with the way she was moving. It’s all about rhythm and momentum with a big horse like that.”
A $625,000 yearling purchase, Occult posted her third victory and her first in a graded race in six career starts. The daughter of Into Mischief is owned by Alpha Delta Stables.
She paid $4.80 to win as the favorite.
“They really like this filly in the barn. The guys in New York, where she was based, told me she was doing really good and looked ready to run a big one,” said Luis Cabrera, who oversees Brown’s division at Monmouth Park. “I think the key is to space out her races and to keep her on a fast track. That’s when she is at her best.
“She ran great today. As soon as we brought her out, she looked ready to run. We expected her to run well, but I have to say this was very impressive.”
Foggy Night, the second choice, held for second, 1 1/4 lengths ahead of Riding Pretty, the lone New Jersey-bred in the field.