Monmouth Racing Recap: 5/30/15

More than 8,000 fans came out to the Oceanport oval for a Saturday afternoon of racing. Here's how it all went down.

Race 1 (Musket Mary, Gerald Bennett-Chelsey Keiser, 1:39.1)
I don't know if I will ever know what Jose Ferrer was thinking with his ride on True to the Game, but it wasn't much. Despite a clear lead with his mount, he sent her through a second quarter of :23.1, enabling her to open up a five-length lead. To the surprise of (probably) nobody, she tired, and Musket Mary shot up the rail to win it. After True to the Game, it was 20 lengths back to third place Trapise in Utopia.

Race 2 (Confrontational, Greg Sacco-Paco Lopez, 1:41.4)
Confrontational's form had been sharply declining, but she still managed to find a field that she could beat. She rated in the two-path the entire way around, made her move, and managed to win easily when no one else made one. Not much else to say about the rest of these.

Race 3 (Forge Ahead Franki, Wayne Catalano-Armando Ayuso, 1:09.4)
Forge Ahead Franki was gunned to the early lead by Armando Ayuso, and, rather inexplicably, no one tried to challenge him. This enabled Franki to leave everyone else in the dust and win by seven easy lengths. His race will look impressive on paper--especially with the very fast final time--but be aware that, if there is any sense left in the world, he will not get as easy of a trip in his next start.

Race 4 (Have a Taste, Greg Sacco-Paco Lopez, :56.2)
Anna May Our Queen was the most likely winner, to be "shore", but 1/2 on her was more than a bit ridiculous. She looked good for most of the race, setting torrid fractions on a clear lead, but was run down late by first-time grass starter Have a Taste, who sat a beautiful trip off that fast pace inside. Offlee Shiekh also rallied from the back of the pack, and narrowly missed to secure third.

Race 5 (Freestyler, Bruce Alexander-Daniel Centeno, 1:36.4)
I don't understand what goes through the heads of Monmouth bettors sometimes. Case in point: He's So Fine went off at 1/1 in this race. How could that possibly happen? I mean, are bettors looking at the board and thinking, "wow, this horse is even money! Can't afford to pass this one up!" Meanwhile, my pick, Freestyler, went off at 5/2. He ran another great race, stalking the pace, making a three-wide move, and battling with He's So Fine to get up and score. I wish I had bet it, but I was away this weekend, so I couldn't. What'cha gonna do?

Race 6 (Oak Bluffs, Jamie Ness-Trevor McCarthy, :55.1)
The already-speedy Dedicated to Bob was a little too speedy in here, setting blazing fractions of :20.3 and :43.1. This set the table perfectly for Oak Bluffs, who stalked the pace, split horses late, and erupted down the stretch for a two-length victory. Oak Bluffs improved to 2-2 on the season--one win on dirt, one win on grass.

Race 7 (Hip Hop N Jazz, Tom Proctor-Trevor McCarthy, 1:10.2)
You couldn't have asked for a better trip for Hip Hop N Jazz, who rated off an extremely fast four-way speed duel, rolled four-wide on the turn, and won easily. Among the duelers, Hazel Eyed Girl ran the best race, vying for the lead in the four-path before stopping and holding on for a decent third. Watch for her next time.

Race 8 (Make Your Point, Rudy Rodriguez-Inoel Beato, 1:42.4)
Remember how I said Good Catholic Girl was worth a bet, because she had a ton of trouble in her last start? Yeah, as it turns out, she had a tough trip here, too, running wide almost the whole way around. As such, she faded to a disappointing seventh.
Make Your Point, meanwhile, was well off the pace for most of the race, only to rally wide late and get up. Second-place finisher Glory Style had a similar trip.

Race 9 (Padre Graz, Pat McBurney-Daniel Centeno, 1:45.0)
Village Warrior was once again bet down to ludicrously low odds, going off at 4/5. Just like last time, he had no rally when asked. I'll tell you, if he comes back at this same level in his last start, I will unapologetically call anyone who bets him a huge moron.
Winner Padre Graz, meanwhile, sat a beautiful trip, rating off the leader, Roman Officer, and rolling to an easy score once he tired and nobody else made a move.

Race 10 (Love That Kelly, Jamie Ness-Daniel Centeno, 1:36.0)
That makes three for Daniel Centeno on the day, as Love That Kelly rallied from the back of the pack to score a game win over fellow closer Double Berg. That also makes a training double for Jamie Ness.

Race 11 (Saucy Don, Teresa Pompay-Abel Castellano, 1:09.2)
Not only did Rainbow Heir lose at 2/5 odds in his return, he wasn't even the best horse in here. Saucy Don had to wait, roughly, a million years for a place to go, only to finally get clear in the stretch and get through to win it by a head over Loverbil. The latter made a big move on the far turn, only to get nipped late by Saucy Don.
Rainbow Heir was a disappointing fourth, although I doubt that this race is very indicative of his overall form. Watch for him to improve next time.

Race 12 (Khloe's Quest, Marcus Vitali-Orlando Bocachica, 1:12.4)
This race was over the moment it began, when Khloe's Quest jumped out to a clear early lead, and no one else even came close to catching her. My pick, Solo Number, went off at 41/1 odds, and was beaten by 47 lengths. You can't win 'em all, I guess.

That's a wrap for Saturday. I'll see you Thursday for a rundown of the first Friday card of the season.