Monmouth Park Barn Notes 06-21-18

By Tom Luicci —-

DARK ARTIST SEEKING ANOTHER STAKES WIN IN OPEN MIND;
VETERAN MANOEL CRUZ JOINS MONMOUTH JOCKEY COLONY

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Now that trainer Jane Cibelli has started to solve the mystery of 3-year-old filly Dark Artist, she wants to take full advantage of it. Exactly four weeks after the daughter of Paynter-Ominous Cat notched her first stakes victory in the Boiling Springs at Monmouth Park, Dark Artist will look to repeat that effort in Saturday’s $60,000 Open Mind Handicap.

A field of nine turf runners has entered the Open Mind, which is for 3-year-old fillies at a mile and a sixteenth on the grass.

“I’m very happy with her for several reasons,” said Cibelli. “She’s not an easy horse to train and she’s not an easy horse to ride. Previous to this on the grass she would just go. You’re very limited in what you can do when you run that way.

“(Jockey) Trevor McCarthy did a fantastic job last race dropping off the pace and relaxing her and everything just went perfect. She learned a lot from that race.”

Though Cibelli did not originally view Dark Artist as a turf specialist, the filly owns two of her three career victories on the grass. After showing all front-end speed in her first two grass tries, Dark Artist rated nicely to win the Boiling Springs by three-quarters of a length with a strong late run.

Two horses she defeated that day — So Hi Society, who was third, and Lisa Limon, who was fifth – will try Dark Artist again on Saturday.

“My only concern this race is that there does not appear to be a lot of pace, so I don’t know if she is going to the lead or not,” said Cibelli. “I’ll just tell Trevor to jump out of the gate, see where she ends up, and then make a decision from there.”

Cibelli, the only woman to win a Monmouth Park training title (doing so in 2011 and 2012), has taken particular satisfaction with the development of Dark Artist because of the horse’s difficult-to-handle nature.

After going only on dirt for her first four career starts as a 2-year-old, all three of Dark Artist’s 3-year-old races have been on the grass. She has three career victories from seven starts with earnings of $105,136.

“She’s very difficult,” sad Cibelli. “If you give her directions to go right she will go left. She’s one of those types. If you get into a fight with her you will never win.

“We’ve done a lot of work with her, taking her to the paddock, schooling her, and she’s really taken some steps forward in that aspect. Now we just have to keep her going forward.”

The Open Mind could be particularly telling for Dark Artist, since a victory would likely have Cibelli considering a graded stakes race next time out.

“If she wins this we’ll visit the idea of a graded stakes and make a decision from there,” she said.

VETERAN MANOEL CRUZ JOINS JOCKEY COLONY

Journeyman Manoel Cruz, Florida-based for the majority of his 19-year riding career, has joined the Monmouth Park jockey colony on a full-time basis.

Cruz, 48, has won 2,824 career races. He’s the all-time leading rider at now-defunct Calder Race Course.

“Everyone in Florida told me this was a great circuit so I wanted to try it,” said Cruz “I know it will take some time to establish myself but a lot of good things are happening here and I want to be part of it.”

Cruz is not a total stranger to Monmouth Park, having ridden Imawildandcrzyguy to a fourth-place finish in the 2007 Haskell Invitational. The top three finishers in Monmouth’s showcase race that year were Any Given Saturday, Hard Spun and Curlin.

MEMORIAL FOR TRAINER JOE PIERCE JR. SET FOR SUNDAY

A memorial service for trainer Joe Pierce, Jr. will be held Sunday, June 24, at noon in the Turf Club on the Parterre 1 level at Monmouth Park.

Pierce, a fixture in the Monmouth backstretch since the late 1960s, passed away on June 7 at the age of 90. He saddled 2,256 winners and accrued career earnings of $36,363,939 during his distinguished career.

Among his top horses were Friendly Lover, Dream Deal, Family Enterprize, Night Invader and Grecian Flight.

Monmouth honored him with the Virgil “Buddy” Raines Award for distinguished service in 1999.
All trainers, jockeys and racetrack personnel are invited to attend the memorial service.

JERSEY SHORE PICK 6 CARRYOVER AT $50,669

Saturday’s 12-race card at Monmouth Park will offer an added inducement for handicappers: A carryover of $50,669 for the Jersey Shore Pick 6.

The 20-cent bet covers the final six races on the live program, which is highlighted by the $60,000 Open Mind Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at a mile and a sixteenth on the turf.

The jackpot wager pays out the entire pool if there is a single winner.