Monmouth Racing Recap: 6/20/15

Cloudy skies greeted the combatants on this Saturday at Monmouth. Here's what happened:

Race 1 (Candy Portena, Kelly Breen-Paco Lopez, 1:11.4)
I asked in the pre-race analysis if this race was finally one that Candy Portena could win. And, lo and behold, it was! She rated off a battle for the lead in the two path, made her move in the stretch, and brushed off Key d'Oro to win it. Key d'Oro, by the way, was ten lengths clear of the third-place finisher, so it's obvious she was way better than everyone save a superior rival. Perhaps something to keep in mind for next time.

Race 2 (Prague, Joe Orseno-Elvis Trujillo, 1:10.2)
Gypsy Baron, for some reason, allowed Prague to set a ludicrously slow opening quarter of :22.3. For a race of this stature, and at a track like Monmouth, that's glacial. To the surprise of no one, Gypsy Baron couldn't get by, and Prague held on. If Prague has to deal with a pace that is the slightest bit honest next time, he'll be in trouble.
Moneyinyour Pocket, the Jacobson charge, was let go at 7/2, thanks to the giant red flags in his past performances. He was wide down the backstretch and finished sixth. I'm not surprised.

Race 3 (R Girl She Gone, Rene Araya-Elvis Trujillo, 1:05.4)
A similar race as race 2. The main difference, however, is that R Girl She Gone had to work for her lead somewhat, outrunning prospective dueler Classic Kate. No one else really tried for the lead, however, and R Girl She Gone won it easily. Trumpet Kaz, after winning at more than 60/1 a few weeks ago, was second here at 35/1.

Race 4 (Get Air Lex, Eddie Plesa-Paco Lopez, 1:04.2)
I said that if Get Air Lex runs back to her last race, she'll win for fun. Well, she must have run back to that race, because she won by almost seven lengths. Royal Stage made a big wide move on the turn, after running wide the whole way around, and finished third. Acqua Bella, dismissed at more than 50/1 in her debut here, went even wider, but made a strong middle move late to finish fourth. A longshot possibility next out? We'll see.

Race 5 (Shogun Samurai, Kelly Breen-Paco Lopez, 1:10.1)
Thepartyneverends was probably using this race as a springboard to stakes competition. Instead, she was pressured the whole way around on the lead, and had nothing left when her rivals struck at the quarter pole. She was disappointing third, while Shogun Samurai swooped three-wide and picked up the pieces at 11/1. That's three on the day for Paco Lopez.

Race 6 (Imperial Cut, Larry Getto-Jose Ferrer, 1:46.1)
Bettors, for some reason, made Reason 6/5. She checked at the start of the race, and sharply on the turn, and faded to be 7th. Imperial Cut, meanwhile, made a big three-wide move on the turn and drew off to overtake Fiesty Valentina, who looked like a "shore" winner at the 1/8 pole.

Race 7 (Lady Vivien, Kieron Magee-Nik Juarez, 1:11.2)
Lady Vivien sat the trip. She rated two-wide, rallied two-wide around the turn, and won by a comfortable two lengths. My Cousin Fay and Dirty Blonde engaged in a nice battle for second, with the former prevailing by a length.

Race 8 (Golden Wheels, Claudio Gonzalez-Wilmer Garcia, 1:44.2)
Another case of easy lead = automatic win. Golden Wheels cleared to the lead from post 8, was barely challenged, and drew off to an easy five-length score. That's what you get, though, when you don't give a horse pace pressure.

Race 9 (Wildly Good Lookin, Derek Ryan-Abel Castellano, 1:44.1)
See race 8 description, only substitute "Wildly Good Lookin", and "eight length win".

Race 10 (Babe's Ruler, Joan Scott-Elvis Trujillo, 1:37.2)
A great trip for Babe's Ruler, who slid down to the rail and stalked the pace. She then angled into the three-path into the stretch, rolled by, and won it solidly. Quarla rallied wide as well, and got up to finish in second.

Race 11 (Keep Crossing, Larry Jones-Gabriel Saez, 1:10.0)
Here in the Red Cross Stakes, Disco Chick set an insanely fast pace for herself, going the opening quarter in :21.3 and the half in :43.4. This set up perfectly for Keep Crossing, who rallied wide around the turn and swooped by to win. More Than a Party was bet down to the unnaturally low 1/1 price, rated behind the leader, and had nothing to give around the turn. She wound up finishing last.

Race 12 (Naughty Delite, Manny Berrios-Orlando Bocachica, 1:12.2)
Naughty Delite finally breaks through, in his eighteenth career attempt. He sat off a very fast pace, rallied wide into the stretch, and with that ended his losing streak.