Pletcher Duo to Tackle Long Branch

Saturday’s feature race in Oceanport will be the $100,000 Long Branch Stakes, the final major prep race for the $1 million William Hill Haskell Invitational, Monmouth’s signature race of the summer. Trainer Todd Pletcher will send his two entrants, Misconnect and All Tied Up into the mile and one sixteenth stakes test along the main track.

In his last race All Tied Up tried dirt for the first time in an allowance event at Monmouth on May 24, where he bested the field by a convincing four lengths.

“He ran a big race last out,” said Anthony Sciametta, Pletcher’s Monmouth Park assistant. “He’s a nice grass horse but he ran well on the dirt. This will be a major step up for him, but he’s training well.”

A 3-year-old colt by Even the Score out of Satinet, All Tied Up will have to beat tough competition including stablemate and 5-2 morning line favorite Misconnect,  who enters the Long Branch off a fourth place finish in Belmont’s Easy Goer Stakes on June 7. Sciametta believes that All Tied Up will have the best chance for victory if he tries to repeat what he did in his last race.

“Last race he sat back and made one big sweep,” Sciametta said. “It worked out real well for him so I’m sure that’s what we’ll look to do again. Whether on turf or dirt he’s a one run horse. He takes a while to get himself together but when its time to go he’s got a pretty good kick from the three and a half home.”

Thirteen-time Monmouth Park leading jockey Joe Bravo will ride Misconnect, as Gabriel Saez gets the call on All Tied up in the Long Branch, which will go as race 11 on Saturday’s 12-race card.