Opening Day at Monmouth Park for 2015 was a cloudy one, but the fog cleared up soon enough, and racing was conducted before more than 11,000 excited fans under cloudy skies.
Race 1 (Mello Groove, Rory Huston-Armando Ayuso, 1:06.1)
It sounded like an exciting race--unfortunately, the public couldn't see it, due to heavy fog. When the horses finally emerged, they saw Mello Groove and Greed is Good fighting tooth-and-nail down to the wire, with Mello Groove emerging as the winner. Given--as we'll see later on--that the rail was the place to be, Mello Groove's effort has to be considered impressive. Take nothing away from Greed is Good, either: he fought hard and narrowly missed off a long layoff. Watch for both of them next time out.
Race 2 (Van Frassen, David Jacobson-Andre Worrie, 1:45.1)
In the first race of the year that we, for the most part, could see, Marvelous Chester set the early pace, but faltered on the inside. Van Frassen, meanwhile, sat the dream trip, rating in the two-path to draw away, and turn away rail-rallying Bo Badger. David Jacobson earns his first win of the year with this one.
Race 3 (Fiesta Rose, Dennis Ward-Jose Ferrer, 1:11.1)
This race was over about five seconds after it began, when Fiesta Rose shot out to the front and drew away to win by eight easy lengths. No one else in the field was really gaining ground on her, at all, so be aware this performance was not as impressive as it may seem. Jacobson claimed this filly for $40,000, to the surprise of few.
Race 4 (Indian Fighter, Rudy Rodriguez-Inoel Beato, 1:06.0)
I had expressed concern over Indian Fighter's class drop, but he proved me wrong by going to the lead from the rail, fending off the tries of several of his rivals to score convincingly. It was probably the drop down to the $20,000 level that proved to do the trick. It'll be interesting to see how he does next out against winners, especially considering he got claimed by Jacobson.
Race 5 (Nauset Beach, Terri Pompay-Abel Castellano, 1:46.1)
This one looked to be in Village Warrior's back pocket when he got a good trip stalking leader Nauset Beach. However, Village Warrior just could not get by, as Nauset Beach hung on to become the third straight gate-to-wire winner of the program. It's unclear how much of Village Warrior's defeat was due to an apparent track bias, or if he was just hanging down the stretch. Regardless, there will be cause for concern heading into his next.
Race 6 (Light's Gone Wild, Chuck Spina-Jose Ferrer, 1:11.1)
My pick, Charlesbrecknridge, was once again off slowly, while 14/1 shot Light's Gone Wild rushed out to the early lead with an aggressive ride by Jose Ferrer, and (again!) held off the rest of his competition for the victory. It's at this point of the day where one must wonder how much of a track bias there was, but if there was one, Charlesbrecknridge's effort merits a long look, as he rallied up the inside to finish a solid fourth. Comic Bird, who rated up on the outside only to stop late, may be a candidate to improve next out as well.
Race 7 (Oak Bluffs, Jaime Ness-Trevor McCarthy, 1:11.4)
This was one of the first races all day where the speed faded, as What the Chub rocketed to the lead from post position 1 while being stalked by several rivals, only to throw in the towel late. Favored Oak Bluffs, meanwhile, rallied from two lengths off the lead, really running strong after being freed from a trap behind horses. Both him, and Behr in the Woods, who rallied to get up for third late, are ones to keep an eye on, especially when one considers how speed-favoring the track was.
Race 8 (Stableford, Phil Serpe-Abel Castellano, 1:42.0)
The first grass race of the year was a thriller, as two of the logical horses in the race, Stableford and Pirradazis, rated off leading Broadway Zen, and battled with each other down the lane. Stableford held off Pirradazis's explosive rail rally to secure the victory. This makes Broadway Zen 1-14 over the last year and a half, and ensures that while he'll probably get the lead, he won't hold on to it.
Race 9 (Misszippityslewda, David Jacobson-Andre Worrie, 1:11.1)
It was a laughably easy win for Misszippityslewda, who got to the early lead, and drew off to a dominating 13 length win. Jacobson lost this filly at the claim box, but claimed runner-up Casual Elegance. You win some, you lose some, I guess.
Race 10 (Wild Billum, Charles Harvett-Daniel Centeno, 1:41.2)
This race was as much of a scramble as you can get, as Majestic Jess, who set the pace almost the whole way, was sixth despite being only one length behind the winner, Wild Billum, who rated inside and shot through a hole up the rail to get the job done. Both Hyman Roth and Azure Dragon ran similar races, only they moved on the outside, rendering their efforts a mere footnote.
Race 11 (A.P. Indian, Arnaud Delacour-Daniel Centeno, 1:09.2)
I'll give Favorite Tale some credit here, as it was his first start since November of last year and he ran a solid second in what was, by far, the fastest 6 furlong race of the day, but he couldn't get by A.P. Indian who got the dream trip setting the pace on the rail. If Favorite Tale is able to get a similar field on a normal track next time out, he's going to be very tough to beat.
Race 12 (Stevie's Moonshot, Todd Pletcher-Paco Lopez, 1:41.4)
Last year's leading jockey Paco Lopez earns his first win of the season, as favored Stevie's Moonshot proves my concern about his long layoff unfounded with a victory. He did it while making a rally from thirteen lengths out of it, something no other horse in today's three grass races was able to do. Possibly a good sign going forward.
Track Bias: Speed-favoring. The place to be today was on the lead and on the rail. All but one dirt winner was on or near the lead today, and no horse closed from far back to win. Watch for any horse who ran even decently from the back of the pack in their next start, because that may be a good bet.
That wraps up Opening Day at Monmouth. Sunday's analysis is coming up shortly.
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