Rainbow Heir Back to Form for John Reilly 'Cap

Rainbow Heir and Partyallnightlong, two top New Jersey breds, will face eight other Jersey-born runners in Saturday’s John J. Reilly Handicap at six furlongs on the dirt, feature on the 11-race program.

After a six-month layoff, Rainbow Heir returns to racing at Monmouth Park, where he is a perfect 2-for-2 for trainer Ben Perkins, Jr., including last year’s running of the Grade 3 Jersey Shore Stakes.

“He stayed in Maryland this winter,” said Perkins, “so he missed some training due to the weather, but he’s been training great now. This is a starting point for the season, so we’ll see how it goes and make plans from there.”

A 4-year-old colt by Wildcat Heir, out of Rainbow Pride, Rainbow Heir breezed four furlongs at Monmouth in :49 flat on May 26, a week after posting a bullet work on May 18, going four furlongs in :47 flat handily from the gate.

Rival Partyallnightlong, conditioned by Eddie Broome, last worked on May 26, when he breezed four furlongs in :49 2/5. A 7-year-old horse by Put It Back, out of Party to Party, Partyallnightlong will attempt to bounce back from a fifth place finish in the Decathlon Stakes at Monmouth Park on May 10.

“We actually had a little problem last race,” Broome said. “He got smacked around leaving the gate and his back went into spasms, so that’s why he didn’t really run up to par, but he’s ready to rock right now.”

Partyallnightlong makes his second start in Oceanport since returning to his home barn from Gulfstream Park, where he spent the winter. In all, Partyallnightlong is 7-for-12 at Monmouth Park, good for $337,270 of his $463,030 in lifetime earnings.

“He’s happy to be back,” said Broome. “He loves the track here. It’s home. Everybody likes to go home.”

Partyallnightlong is the morning line favorite at 3-1, as Rainbow Heir is on the line at 7-2. Rainbow Heir will break from the rail as Partyallnightlong breaks from the 3-hole as both seek the winner’s share of the $60,000 purse.

“There should be plenty of pace,” said Broome. “We would like to sit right off the pace. He can go with them if I wanted him to, but I don’t. I would have liked a little bit of a better post, maybe the nine or ten, but you have to play the hand you’re dealt.”

Monmouth’s leading jockey Paco Lopez gets the mount aboard Partyallnightlong as Trevor McCarthy has the call atop Rainbow Heir.