Monmouth Notes & Recaps

By Tom Luicci —-

ACIANO SCORES IMPRESSIVE THREE-LENGTH VICTORY

OCEANPORT, N.J. – Aciano returned to her solid 3-year-old form, bouncing back from a poor start in her 2018 debut last time out, to score an impressive three-length victory in the $40,000 featured allowance optional claimer on Friday at Monmouth Park.

Trained by Kelly Rubley and ridden by Jevian Toledo, Aciano took the lead from 4-5 favorite Paulita within the opening quarter mile and was never seriously threatened after that.

The daughter of K One King-Button Girl covered the mile and an eighth over a turf course listed as “good” in 1:49.18.

“I knew (Paulita) was the only other speed horse but I didn’t want to fight my filly, either,” said Toledo . “As soon as I took hold of her she wanted to go, so I knew I couldn’t stay where I was or I would have been fighting her the entire way and she wouldn’t have anything left.

“So I let her go and she relaxed nicely.”

Owned by Gunpowder Farms LLC, Aciano was making her second start for Rubley. She failed to finish in her last start on June 16 at Delaware Park at a mile and a sixteenth on the grass.

“I knew she was a nice filly but a race like her last one makes you nervous,” said Rubley. “This is more like what we expected from her.”

Sent off at 3-1, Aciano won for the second time in eight career starts. So Charming rallied for second, a nose ahead of Paulita in third.

Racing resumes at Monmouth Park on Saturday. First post is 12:50 p.m.

PICK 6 CARRYOVER AT $313,778 FOR SATURDAY’S CARD

The Jersey Shore Pick 6 carryover has grown to a record $313,778 for Monmouth Park’s penultimate weekend of racing after the jackpot wager failed to produce the single winner required to take the entire pool during Friday’s eight-race card.

Selecting six winners on Friday returned $1,384.62.

The winning sequence began with Playing Hooky ($7.00) in the 3rd race and was followed by Catburt ($22.20) in the 4th race, Blame T J ($4.80) in the 5th race, Groovy Tale ($2.60) in the 6th race, Aciano ($8.40) in the 7th race and Recanted ($4.20) in the 8th and final race.

The Pick 6 starts in the 7th race on Saturday’s 12-race card, which features four stakes races overall, including the Grade 3 Violet Stakes and the Grade 3 Red Bank Stakes.

In addition, there is a $150,000 guaranteed single ticket late Pick 5 that starts with Saturday’s 8th race.

First race post Saturday is 12:50 p.m. Monmouth will also conduct live racing on Sunday and Monday before closing weekend Sept. 8 and 9.

TRAINER DELACOUR LOOKING FOR MORE MONMOUTH SUCCESS

IN SATURDAY’S TWO GRADE 3 STAKES RACES ON THE GRASS

Trainer Arnaud Delacour has two distinctly different objectives for the horses he will send out in the two graded stakes races on Monmouth’s 12-race card on Saturday.

With Care Lady, a recent private purchase by Lael Stable following a successful 3-year-old season in Argentina last year, he’s trying to figure out exactly what he has. The 4-year-old daughter Equal Stripes-Care For made her U.S. debut (and 2018 debut) on Aug. 2 at Saratoga , finishing fifth in an $80,000 optional claimer at a mile and an eighth on the grass.

She will go in the Grade 3 Violet Stakes ant a mile and an eighth on the turf.

With Special Envoy, part of the field for the Grade 3 Red Bank Stakes at a mile on the turf, he is trying to get the rugged 7-year-old gelding fit for another successful run through the upcoming Virginia-bred stakes program.

“Care Lady probably needed that race at Saratoga ,” said Delacour, noting the filly had not raced since Dec. 17 prior to that start. “Also, she ran behind a very slow pace. They went :50.2 to the half and she needs a little more pace to run at.

“Hopefully we get that pace in the Violet Stakes and then we can assess her better. It’s not an easy race but none of them are easy at this level.”

Care Lady won from seven furlongs to a mile and a quarter in 2017, capturing two Grade 1 stakes in Argentina . She is 3-for-7 lifetime with earnings of $197,168.

“She was the champion filly there last year,” said Delacour. “She really runs well at a mile and a quarter, but she has won at seven furlongs so this race is kind of in between. What I want to see is a fair shot with a race at a fair pace. Usually you get that at Monmouth Park .”

Delacour has already had plenty of success from just eight starters at Monmouth this summer, capturing the Regret Stakes on June 17 with Chalon and the Incredible Revenge Stakes with Amapola on Aug. 11. He has entered four horses overall on the Saturday card, which also includes the Sorority Stakes and the Sapling Stakes, both for 2-year-olds.

Special Envoy, Delacour concedes, is in a particularly tough spot in the Red Bank Stakes with the likes of Synchrony, Irish Strait and Grade 1 winner Force the Pass.

Following a nine-month layoff, Delacour was able to get Special Envoy started in a restricted stakes race at Laurel on June 23, where the son of Stroll-Diplomacy was a late-running second, beaten one length.

A year ago, Delacour essentially started Special Envoy’s campaign in the Red Bank Stakes, where he was fifth. He then clicked off three straight wins in Virginia-bred stakes company.

Overall, Special Envoy shows an 8-6-3 line for 23 career starts, all on the turf.

“I need to run him here because I have him pointed the Virginia-bred stakes program that starts in three weeks,” said Delacour. “We did the same thing last year and it worked out well. I’m trying to follow the same path. It has been difficult to get horses on the turf this year because of the bad weather we’ve had.

“But he’s a talented horse when he’s right. And he has done well at Monmouth (with a win and a second in three tries on the track’s turf course). In 2015 he was second in the (then-Grade 3) Cliff Hanger Stakes there, so we’ll see how ready he is for this year.”

Saturday’s first race post time is 12:50 p.m. The card includes a $150,000 single ticket guaranteed late Pick 5 on races eight through 12.

GRAND SLAM COLLEGE FOOTBALL AND STAKES COMBO BET

AVAILABLE AT MONMOUTH SPORTS BOOK ON SATURDAY

The Grand Slam wager, a bet that combines picking the winners of two designated college football games and two designated races, returns on Saturday at Monmouth Park as part of a 12-race live program on the first full day of the college football.

The wager is available in the Monmouth Park Sports Book by William Hill.

Saturday’s designated college football games are Michigan-Notre Dame (7:30 p.m. on NBC-TV) and Middle Tennessee-Vanderbilt (also a 7:30 p.m. start). Bettors are required to pick the winners of both games based on the listed money line of the game.

The designated races are the Grade 3 Red Bank Stakes at a mile on the turf and the Sapling Stakes for 2-year-olds at a mile on the dirt.

Bettors must correctly pick the winners of all four events. The payout is based on the final $1 mutuel prices and the listed money line of the game.

The minimum bet is $2. The maximum payout is 1,000 to 1.

3-DAY BBQ & CRAFT BEER FESTIVAL STARTS SATURDAY

The three-day BBQ & Craft Beer Festival, featuring more than 70 beers and a wide variety of food trucks, starts Saturday, Sept. 1, and will run through Labor Day on Monday, Sept. 3 – serving as a flavorful complement to live racing at Monmouth Park all three days.

The event will take place in the Festival area from 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

A $10 wristband purchase entitles patrons to ten (10) 2-ounce samplers in the beer garden and includes a commemorative sampler glass. Mini mason jar glasses are available for $2.

In addition to the wide variety of craft beers, the list of vendors includes Chip Stix; Cold Stone Creamery; Dag’s Dippers; DRJ Catering BBQ; El Lechon de Negron; Enzo’s; Five Sisters Food Co.; Four Boys Concessions; Good Food = Good Mood; House of Cupcakes; Jack’s Goal Line Stand; Joe Smoke Bar-B-Que; Local Smoke BBQ; Ma & Pa’s Tex-Mex BBQ; Magic Mike’s Smoked Meats; Shore Good Eats N Treats; the Good Donut Shop and Wild Bill’s Olde Fashioned Soda Pop Company.

Saturday will also be an additional Family Fun Day, with free clowns, face painters, pony rides and a bounce house for children 12 and under.

Jessica Rose & After the Reign will perform “On the Green” on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.

Following the races that day, the Little X Little band will perform at the Beer Garden at Blu Grotto.

In addition, the Monmouth Park Sports Book by William will be open until 2 a.m. for the first full Saturday of the college football season.