JUST CALL KENNY LOOKING TO REGAIN WINNING WAYS IN SATURDAY’S GRADE 3 SALVATOR MILE AT MONMOUTH

By Tom Luicci —-

OCEANPORT, N.J. – When trainer Pat McBurney entered Just Call Kenny in a stakes race on Jan. 19 at Laurel Park he was looking for a sign to determine whether the graded stakes-winning 8-year-old still had the enthusiasm – and ability – to compete.

The answer came back a resounding yes on both fronts.

Limited to three starts in 2018 because of an injury, Just Call Kenny is now being pointed for an ambitious campaign at Monmouth Park this summer, starting with Saturday’s Grade 3 Salvator Mile, one of four stakes races on a 13-race card.

“If he wasn’t going to be back to being himself he was going to be a stallion,” said McBurney. “But in that race at Laurel he got back to one of his good numbers on the Thoro-Graph sheets. So we gave him a little time to save him for the summer at Monmouth Park.”

In what could be his final year of racing, the hard-hitting veteran also has the Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin Stakes on June 22 and the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup on July 20 on his summer wish list.

For now, though, McBurney’s focus is on the Salvator Mile, which drew a field of nine that he described as “salty.”

Just Call Kenny will be making his first start – and the 38th of his career – since finishing third in the Native Dancer Stakes in January at Laurel.

“He’s acting like a three or four-year-old, which is a good sign,” said McBurney. “The only negative I see coming into the Salvator Mile is we tried to get a prep race for him and couldn’t get anything to go. So I’d rather he had a race for this.

“It’s hard to do, jumping into stakes company of this quality off a four-month layoff. But we’re keeping our fingers crossed.”

Just Call Kenny, who won the Iselin Stakes at Monmouth Park in 2017, has banked $493,770 for his career. The Virginia-bred son of Jump Start-Green Jeans by Green Dancer will be looking for a return to the winner’s circle for the first time since his signature moment in the Iselin Stakes two years ago.

Doing so won’t be easy in a field that includes 2018 New Jersey Thoroughbred of the Year Sunny Ridge, the John Servis-trained Diamond King and the Todd Pletcher-trained Bal Harbour.

“He’s been a fun horse to be around,” McBurney said. “He’s in pretty tough with this group. But there’s enough speed in there to believe that if he can work out a good trip and stalk, and if he’s tight enough off the layoff, he can get there. If not, he should be much better for his next start.”

TRAINER JOSE DELGADO BECOMES U.S. CITIZEN

As a former jockey who turned to training on his own in 2017, Jose Delgado has had his share of memorable moments. But none compared to what happened on Tuesday, when the Panama native officially became a U.S. Citizen during a ceremony at the lighthouse in Sandy Hook National Park.

“It was very emotional for me,” said Delgado, who came to the United States in 1996. “It felt good to have done this. It’s not something I take for granted. It means a lot to me. I’m very proud to finally become a U.S. citizen.”

Delgado, who rode from 1996 to 2014, currently has 13 horses in his care on the Monmouth Park backstretch. He is hoping to add another half-dozen or so shortly.

“Once I couldn’t make weight any more (as a jockey) I decided to get into training,” said Delgado, who has three wins and two seconds from eight starters at the current Monmouth Park meeting. “But I never thought I was going to be training for other people. I thought I would just train for myself.

“It just started working out well and people asked me to take a few horses, so here I am.”

Delgado said Tuesday’s swearing-in ceremony was “a big deal in my life.”

“I’ve thought about doing this for the past year and a half,” he said. “I’m very proud that I was finally able to make it happen.”

JERSEY SHORE FOOD TRUCK FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS BUSY WEEKEND

The popular Jersey Shore Food Truck Festival will begin a three-day run at Monmouth Park on Saturday that coincides with three straight days of live racing over an event-packed Memorial Day weekend at the Shore track.

Forty-two trucks will be offering culinary delights from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday through Monday.

Saturday’s racing card features the first bundled stakes program of the year, with the Grade 2 Monmouth Stakes, the Grade 3 Salvator Mile, the Boiling Springs Stakes and the John J. Reilly Handicap highlighting a 13-race card.

The Miss Liberty Stakes goes as the feature race on Sunday, with the Hysterical Lady Stakes topping Monday’s Memorial Day program.

Saturday also marks the start of the Survival at the Shore handicapping contest as well as the first day that tickets go on sale to the public for the Grade 1 TVG.com Haskell Invitational slated for July 20.

To be eligible for Survival at the Shore, a free online handicapping game, contestants must register by 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 25.

For further information visit Challenge@survivalattheshore.com.

Tickets for the Haskell Invitational will be available starting at 11:30 a.m. Saturday and may be purchased on line or at the track at the reserved ticket booth on the second floor of the grandstand.

Live music is also on tap throughout the extended weekend, starting on Saturday with country artist Lauren Davidson performing “On the Green” from noon to 4 p.m. and Kristen Baum playing on the second stage, also from noon to 4 p.m.

Brent &Co. and Jessica Rose will be the two featured Sunday performers with the band Sundries taking the stage on Monday.

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