Private Zone Settles In at Monmouth Park
Multiple Grade 1 stakes winner Private Zone has settled in to Jorge Navarro’s barn at
Monmouth
Park for the summer with the Breeders’ Cup Classic this fall circled on the calendar.
“The
Classic is the ultimate goal,” said Navarro. “Rene Douglas (part owner
of Private Zone and
Belmont Stakes winning jockey) told me he thinks the horse wants to go
longer. Every time he hits the wire, he just keeps on going, so the plan
is to stretch him out.”Private Zone ran in last year’s Breeders Cup Sprint where he found himself three-wide on the turn for home and fought
gamely for third.
“He has been real happy since we got him,” said Navarro. “He’s been working great. He went out the other morning and did four furlongs in :47 and did it so easily.”
That workout came May 20, a bullet for the day among the 28 horses that went that distance.
After finishing a narrow second by a half-length in the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Handicap in March, Private Zone went wire-to-wire last time out in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Stakes going seven furlongs in 1:22 3/5 defeating multiple graded stakes winner Pants on Fire.
“Right now we‘re looking at the Met Mile (June 6) on Belmont Stakes Day, but after that, there are races at Monmouth that we are looking at like the Salvator Mile (July 5), Monmouth Cup (August 2) and the Iselin (August 30),” said Navarro.
CONGENIAL TRIES TO MAKE A WINNING MONMOUTH DEBUT IN MAJESTIC LIGHT
Congenial, from the barn of Jorge Navarro, will try to make his first career start at Monmouth Park a successful one in Saturday’s $75,000 Majestic Light Stakes going a mile and seventy yards over the main track.
“He worked over the track the other morning and it went beautifully,” said Navarro, who has been the top trainer at Monmouth the past two years. “We were stabled at Calder (Gulfstream Park West) over the winter and horses that come off that sand-based track seem to glide over other surfaces.”
In that last work on May 16, Congenial went four furlongs in :47 2/5, which was the fourth fastest time of the day for four furlongs out of 63 horses.
Last time out in the $60,000 Blue Heron Handicap at Gulfstream, Congenial was forced 5-wide on the turn and got up to finish fourth by two lengths.
“He has a habit of lugging out,” said Navarro. “He was not happy the whole way around last time out. I think he’ll run a big race on Saturday.”
The 6-year-old gelding from Pulpit (A.P. Indy) out of Charming N’ Loveable will have no easy task in capturing the Majestic Light as he will face graded stakes winner Valid as well as multiple stakes winner Stormin Monarcho.
Carlos Marquez Jr. gets the mount for the second time aboard Congenial who will break from post four in a field of 11.
The Majestic Light will be race 11 on the 12-race card. Scheduled post time is 5:43pm.
Source: Monmouth Park