More than 14,000 people came out on a Mother's Day blessed by tremendous weather, but also affected by a ridiculously speed-biased track.
Race 1 (Gallant Lady, Robert Donato-Jorge Robles, 1:13.0)
In the opener, four of the fillies went out for the early lead, but the one who got the rail--Gallant Lady, in this case--was the one who drew off to win by a ridiculously easy 10 lengths. Given the slow time and the large winning margin, I doubt much was behind her here.
Also, note the odds drop on her--she was 2/1 going into the gate, but crossed the wire at 6/5. I mean, I know a good chunk of the betting money comes in late, but still, that's unbelievable.
Race 2 (Roman Officer, Michael Dini-Jose Ferrer, 1:11.4)
It's a similar story to the first race in here--three horses were vying for the early lead, with Roman Officer being the one who was hustled to the early lead and drawing off, despite early fractions of :21.3 and :44.3. While the track showed speed-favoring tendencies Saturday, it was around this point in Sunday's card that bettors may have realized it had intensified today.
Race 3 (Twisted Kick, John Botty-Trevor McCarthy, 1:06.1)
Twisted Kick, while not being on the rail, was nonetheless on the lead, dueling on the two-path through a blazing opening quarter mile of :21.4. She dispatched her inside rival, Khloe's Quest, and drew off by three easy lengths. She was another one who was 2/1 for most of the early betting, only to go down to 6/5 late. Fun times.
On another note, a horse to watch out of here may be the 4, Bella Yolanda, who made a solid closing rally to score second in her career debut. Over a fair track next out, and closer to the pace, she'll be a factor.
Race 4 (Steve's Adventures, Finley Bishop-Navin Mangalee, 1:11.2)
Steve's Adventures, who hadn't raced in a year and a half, got into a duel with favored One For Don, and somehow drew off to win by four lengths like nothing was wrong. I'm still not sure if I would bet Steve's Adventures next out, but I'll be intrigued to see how aided he was by the track bias. For all we know, he could prove to be legit. But I wouldn't count on it.
Also: One For Don was very disappointing, as he should've been able to hold on if he had run back to his last few at Parx, as were both Jani's Wildcat and Donttellyourmother, both of whom stalked the pace and neither of whom had any kick late. The 8, I'mtrulyinthemood, made a solid rally to get up for second--with his continually ascending figures, he may be one to watch next time.
Race 5 (Fear Not, Michael Mullin-Ramon Moya, 1:42.0)
Once Luckystrikedelcoco, who was the only one in the field to have shown an iota of speed before, awkwardly stumbled leaving the gate, there was no pace in the race. Ramon Moya recognized the situation and hustled Fear Not to the lead, and it was all over from there as she got no pace pressure whatsoever.
I'll give Luckystrikedelcoco credit, however--she was able to rally four-wide and get up for a clear second, despite being taken out of her element with her start. If she can break cleanly next out, she should grab the lead, and be able to draw off for an easy score.
Race 6 (Freestyler, Bruce Alexander-Daniel Centeno, 1:38.2)
My selection, Vinceremos, was bet down a ludicrously low 4/5, despite the wide-open nature of the race. He stalked the pace in the two-path and wound up beaten sixteen lengths. Something tells me, even with the bias, that his time as a horse at this level may be up.
The winner here, Freestyler, rated off leader Bama Bound in the two-path, He took the lead late, only to look beaten when Marriage Fever came to his outside and began to roll. Freestyler, however, came back to get up by a nose. When one sees the very slow final quarter time (:26.3), one must wonder how much was Freestyler's gameness, and how much was Marriage Fever just folding.
Race 7 (Shesfromboston, Michael Mullin-Abel Castellano, 1:35.2)
That's two winners on the grass today for trainer Michael Mullin, as his Shesfromboston rated in the three-path, rallied wide, and got up for the victory. Noteworthy in defeat is the 10, The Real McCoy, who broke slowly, was well behind for most of the race, only to explode down the center of the track late and just miss by half a length. With a better start, she'll do big things next time out.
Race 8 (Easy to Say, Ben Perkins-Paco Lopez, 1:10.4)
The drop in class worked for heavily favored Easy to Say, who received some light pressure early on from Posse Dreamin--who later checked out of contention and finished last--and drew off to toy with the competition. Something tells me that he would have won this race regardless of whether or not the track was playing to speed, and he should have a nice future ahead of him.
Race 9 (Bay Dawn, Roberto Calvo-Inoel Beato, 1:42.2)
Kent's Baby Girl was allowed to set a very relaxed pace in this one, only to be taken over late by several, including the eventual winner, Bay Dawn, who rallied from last. One horse to consider out of this race is Good Catholic Girl, who had absolutely nowhere to go on the inside, finally found an opening late, only to be cut off from it. Not persevered with after checking in the stretch, she was likely best in here, and is probably worth a bet next time out. Bay Dawn and Glory Style, the top two, were in the top two only because Good Catholic Girl had to check, so remember that those efforts may not be as impressive as they look on paper.
Race 10 (Blings Express, Marcus Vitali-Orlando Bocachica, 1:11.1)
Blings Express sat the dream trip in this one, stalking the two speedsters setting a ridiculous (21:4, :44.2) pace, and drew off to score easily. He'll probably never get an easier trip in his life than that one.
Race 11 (Palm Island, David Jacobson-Andre Worrie, 1:10.1)
Another score for the increasingly dangerous Jacobson-Worrie combination, who have won three races in two days. In this race, Palm Island rated two-wide off the speed of favored Scatter Joy, and drew past her late to win it. Third-place finisher Songa made a mild rally late, but couldn't muster up the necessary ground.
Race 12 (Trouble With Girls, Dennis Ward-Paco Lopez, 1:13.0)
Trouble With Girls didn't get any pressure on the lead, and it showed. He set a :22.4 opening quarter, which compared to the rest of the races on the day's card, was glacial. A few horses in the field tried to rally, but nobody else did, so Trouble With Girls essentially won by default. Even at the n/w3L level next out, he'll be one I view with suspicion.
That wraps up Opening Week at Monmouth Park. Hope everybody out there made some money. I'll see you Friday for a breakdown of Saturday's card.
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