Tag: thoroughbred racing
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O’Connor has high expectations for You Look Cold in $200,000 Sorority Stakes
OCEANPORT – There’s a unique sense of excitement that consumes even the most grizzled of trainers when they have a promising young horse just starting out. Or, as veteran conditioner Rob O’Connor II put it, “Nobody ever dies when they have a good 2-year-old.” O’Connor hopes to know on Labor Day, Sept. 6, if he…
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American Sanctuary heading east for Sapling Stakes at Monmouth Park
OCEANPORT – For trainer Christopher Davis to venture east to Monmouth Park, something he has done just once before in his brief career, there has to be a good reason. Visions of the Breeders’ Cup would qualify as that. Davis, currently based at Arlington Park in Illinois, will send American Sanctuary to Monmouth Park for…
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Lopez rides seven winners at Monmouth; caps day with Miss Liberty Stakes win
OCEANPORT – It may be true that records are made to be broken, but jockey Paco Lopez keeps tying his own one at Monmouth Park. Lopez matched the record he set twice in 2014 by winning seven races on the 14-race card on Aug. 28, capping the performance with a half-length victory aboard Vigilantes Way…
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Belgrano has trainer Russo thinking big in Rainbow Heir Stakes
OCEANPORT – Frank Russo still shows up early every morning for hands-on work with his four-horse stable at Monmouth Park, a routine he has maintained since he started training in 1976. But Saturday could be a little different for the 79-year-old conditioner. Belgrano, a 7-year-old gelding Russo says is “probably the best horse I’ve ever…
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Duarte will send 2-year-old Hooky Player out for turf test on Aug. 27
OCEANPORT – With the days dwindling to allow enough time to get a 2-year-old turf runner ready for the $500,000 Nownownow Stakes on Sept. 26 at Monmouth Park, trainer Jorge Duarte Jr., hopes a contender or two from his barn surfaces in the next week or so. One of those will make his career debut…
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Code of Honor impresses after layoff with victory in Grade 3 Iselin Stakes
OCEANPORT – Whatever plans trainer Shug McGaughey settles on going forward with Code of Honor, he now has the perfect set-up race behind him to work off. Code of Honor, the 2019 Kentucky Derby runner-up and Travers Stakes winner, easily shook off the cobwebs from a seven-month layoff, rolling to a two-and-a-half-length victory in the…
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Sweezey counting on home track advantage for Phat Man in Iselin Stakes
OCEANPORT – To beat a horse like multiple Grade 1 winner Code of Honor in Saturday’s Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin Stakes at Monmouth Park, trainer Kent Sweezey knows he needs every edge he can get. That’s where the home track advantage comes in for Phat Man. Code of Honor, the 2019 Kentucky Derby runner-up…
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Code of Honor set to return in Iselin Stakes after seven-month layoff
OCEANPORT – It’s not so much a new and improved version of Code of Honor who will make his return to the races in the Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin Stakes on Aug. 21 at Monmouth Park, trainer Shug McGaughey said, as it is a more mature one. Idle since a fifth place finish on…
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Gonzalez making his presence felt as veteran trainer closes in on 1,000 career victories
OCEANPORT – There was a time early in the Monmouth Park meet when Claudio Gonzalez’s name was stuck near the bottom of the trainer standings. That isn’t the case any longer and those who know his history would not be surprised if he eventually finishes atop those same standings. It will take some work, Gonzalez…
