Monmouth Park Barn Notes

By Tom Luicci —-

GODOLPHIN FILLY TOO CHARMING TESTING STAKES COMPANY
IN SATURDAY’S $60,000 OPEN MIND AT MONMOUTH PARK

OCEANPORT, N.J. – After seeing Too Charming step up in her last race to finally break through with a victory, trainer Tom Albertrani is eager to see if his filly can do it again – and off a two-month layoff.

Too Charming, coming off a Maiden Special Weight score at Tampa Bay Downs, will test the waters of stakes company on Saturday at Monmouth Park in the $60,000 Open Mind Handicap, the feature race on the 12-race card.

A field of 10, including main track only entrant Jump Ruler, has entered the mile and a sixteenth grass race for 3-year-old fillies.

“She ran well in her last start. She looks like an improving sort and this looked like a good opportunity to try her in a race like this,” said Albertrani. “Hopefully, she’ll step up again a little bit. I’m looking forward to seeing if she can and how she handles this.”

Owned by global powerhouse Godolphin, Too Charming needed five races to break her maiden, doing so at Tampa on April 15. Four of her five lifetime starts have been on the grass, with the other an off-the-turf race. All of her starts have been at a mile or longer, with two at nine furlongs.

“She just looked like that type of horse from the get-go, and judging by her siblings it looked like turf and going long was the way she wanted to go,” Albertrani said. “She did have an off-track race and if this one comes off the turf – I know there is some rain in the forecast – it wouldn’t bother us in the least. We’ll see how it goes.”

That off-track race was Too Charming’s second career start on Jan. 3 at Gulfstream Park, when she finished third at a mile and a sixteenth in the slop.

That race and her most recent one are the two times she has shown a willingness to rate after flashing front-end speed in two other starts. Two races back, at a mile and an eighth on the turf at Gulfstream Park, the daughter of Bernardini-Tour Charmant cut the early fractions before fading to seventh.

In her maiden score she rated just off the early speed.

“Her last race worked out just the way we have been trying to get her to run,” said Albertrani. “She was really relaxed. We always felt if she would just relax a little but early on it would make a big difference to her, and it did.”

WINE & CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL ON TAP THIS WEEKEND

The popular Wine and Chocolate Festival, a two-day event featuring an assortment of desserts and 90 different wines, will complement the live racing cards on Saturday and Sunday, June 23 and 24, at Monmouth Park.

The cash only-festival runs from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. both days, with wrist band sales closing at 4:30 p.m.

Cost for unlimited wine sampling and a souvenir glass is $10. The cost for chocolate sampling only is $7. A combined wristband is $16.

The wine sampling will be held in the Festival area, with the chocolate and dessert sampling on the second floor of the Grandstand.

The chocolate vendors include: 2 Chicks With Chocolate; Chocolate Sage; Caramella Moo; Lily’s Chocolate Paradise; The Chocolate Art Gallery; The Cocoa Exchange; JD Gourmet; Sweetly Chique and Gourmet Creations.

The featured wineries are Laurita Winery; Monroeville Vineyard; Wagonhouse Winery; DiMatteo Vineyards; Plagido’s Winery; Villari Vineyards and Valenzano Winery.

Live music will also be featured “On The Green” both days, with Katfish Lucy performing from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday and The Larry Stevens Band providing the musical entertainment on Sunday, also from noon to 4 p.m.

Sunday is Family Fun Day as well, with free clowns, face painters, pony rides and a bounce house for children 12 and under.