Bill Mott-trained favorite dictates pace in grass stakes as Monmouth opens its 2000 season

The FOCUS of New Jersey racing was diverted, albeit briefly, from off-track wagering legislation and purse allocations to horses and graded stakes over the Memorial Day weekend when Monmouth Park kicked off its 73-day meeting on May 27 at the picturesque shore track.

Jersey Derby (G3)
Monmouth Park, May 28, $100,000, 11/16 miles, turf, firm, 1:42.96
1—LENDELL RAY, c. 3, Regal Affair—Angel Puss, by Wolf Power (SAf).
2—Powerful Appeal, c. 3, Valid Appeal—All Power, by Wolf Power (SAf).
3—Cogburn, c. 3, French Deputy—True Grit, by Woodman.

Even though the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority traded sharp rhetoric after a May 27 full-page advertisement was placed by horsemen in Daily Racing Form, the new season at the state's marquee meeting got off to a stellar start.

As both sides made their positions public, a pair of Ohio-based breeders shipped in one of only two homebreds they currently race and shipped out with their first stakes victory on May 28.

David Eigel's and Kenneth Glass's three-year-old Lendell Ray, under a heady ride by Aaron Gryder, dictated the pace of the $100,000 Jersey Derby (G3) and won America's oldest Derby in a time of 1:42.96 for 11/16 miles over firm turf.

That was not the game plan for Lendell Ray, said Ken McCarthy, assistant to trainer Bill Mott. Lendell Ray, by Regal Affair out of Angel Puss, by Wolf Power (SAf), was supposed to stalk the pace, as he did in the American Turf Stakes (G3) on May 5 at Churchill Downs. There, he came up 23/4 lengths short of catching stablemate King Cugat, one of Mott's top turf runners. Lendell Ray had the lead briefly in that race but relinquished it in the final furlong.

"Bill wanted to keep them apart, so Lendell Ray came here," McCarthy said. "I think this is an improving horse. He showed a little inexperience last time in the stretch and got distracted by the crowd, which allowed (King Cugat) to sneak past. Really, the plan today was to sit behind the early speed, and there was no early speed. Aaron rode a great race. He allowed the horse to go on, and, as you can see by the fractions, he backed it up in everyone's face a little."

Gryder took the initiative with the 6-to-5 favorite, who was a bit rank through the first quarter-mile and went to the front after a :49.21 half-mile. Gryder did not set a demanding pace after that, getting the next quarter in :23.40 to post six furlongs in 1:12.61.

"Going into the first turn, nobody really wanted the lead, and he wanted to reach out a little and stretch his legs," Gryder said. "I let him get in stride and he was happy. I asked him to finish up down the lane, but I don't think I really got to the bottom of him."

Moreton Binn's Powerful Appeal, at 3.30-to-1, finished second, with 66.60-to-1 longshot Cogburn rallying for third. Avezzano (GB), making his first United States start for owners Frank Gorsoine and Team Valor, finished fourth but was disqualified and placed fifth because jockey Norberto Arroyo Jr. struck a rival with his whip. Arroyo, a New York-based apprentice, already faces 60 days worth of suspensions for various riding infractions at Aqueduct that are under appeal.

McCarthy said Lendell Ray would return to Mott's Belmont Park barn and most likely would make his next start there. The $60,000 first-place check raised the colt's earnings to $144,209 for his third win in nine starts.

It was the second running of the Jersey Derby at Monmouth Park, which inherited the race from Garden State Park, where the historic race was contested since 1942. The first-known running took place in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1864, some 11 years before the inaugural Kentucky Derby in 1875.

David Eigel's family owns and operates Rosemont Farm near Lexington, yet he and Kenneth Glass possess a very modest operation, which they described as a "hobby." They reside in the North Canton, Ohio, area, have just one other horse in training at Thistledown, and two broodmares, one of which is Angel Puss.

"The dam of this horse was the first horse that we bought," Eigel said. "My brother is the farm manager down at Rosemont Farm; he picked her out for us, and she's from the family of Angel Island, which is a good family."

Eigel said Regal Affair, Lendell Ray's sire, "never really made it" as a stallion at Rosemont. "But we bred to him for a couple of years, and the offspring have been pretty good." Eigel noted that Angel Puss is currently in foal to Lion Cavern.

Lendell Ray was named for Glass's father who passed away four years ago. "My dad could have been watching today, and I think he was," Glass said. "This is just a great, great feeling."

Mi Narrow's Red Bank

Lisa Hall squinted at the small television set in the Monmouth winner's circle, just making certain that her six-year-old chestnut gelding Mi Narrow had not committed any foul in winning the Red Bank Handicap (G3) by 11/4 lengths on May 29.

Red Bank H. (G3)
Monmouth Park, May 29, $150,000, 1 mile, turf, firm, 1:34.84
1—MI NARROW, g. 6, Mi Selecto—Sioux Narrows, by Superbity.
2—Deep Gold, c. 4, Olympio—Distinctive Review, by Distinctive Pro.
3—Inkatha (Fr), h. 6, Double Bed (Fr)—=Majuba (Fr), by =Mendez (Fr).

"I don't see anything. Nothing," Hall said to trainer Eddie Broome and jockey Cornelio Velasquez as they sweated an objection filed by jockey Dale Beckner aboard Deep Gold. "I have tremendous respect for the stewards but when it's out of your hands, it's always scary," Broome said after the Red Bank was finally made official. "He's been training real well, and he's wanted to lay closer to the leaders. As long as he's there he always finishes. I didn't know if he would win today—this is a tough group—but he ran great."

Mi Narrow, by Mi Selecto, was dismissed by the Memorial Day crowd of 16,188 at odds of 12.30-to-1, despite his 4-3-2 mark in 12 starts over the Monmouth turf, which includes a victory in last year's Oceanport Handicap (G3).

Live Oak Plantation's Strategic Mission, the 1.50-to-1 favorite, had a 11/2-length lead in the stretch after staying close to fractions of :23.49, 46.73, and 1:10.09. Mi Narrow ranged into contention on the outside along with 1999 Red Bank winner Inkatha (Fr) and Deep Gold, who had lost ground around the far turn. The trio began the final furlong abreast, with El Mirasol gaining to their inside.

The horses were in tight quarters before Mi Narrow drew off, which caused Beckner's objection aboard second-place finisher Deep Gold, who nosed out Inkatha. John Peace's Delay of Game, the 2.80-to-1 second betting pick, finished sixth.

"I may have come out a little, but it was nothing," Velasquez said. "Once he changed leads, he took off."

Hall said giving the gelding some time off over the winter before bringing him back in the Bougainvillea Handicap (G3) on March 25 at Gulfstream Park "was the best thing we ever did." Hall purchased Mi Narrow for $13,000 as a weanling and six years later with ten wins, six seconds, and six thirds in 38 lifetime starts, he sports a bankroll of $496,606 after the $90,000 payday for the Red Bank.

"I only have this one horse. When we have more than one, more things seem to go wrong," Hall said.

SHORE SHOTS—Monmouth Park reported a 4.1% increase in live attendance over the three-day Memorial Day weekend, with 55,905 patrons going through the turnstiles. Preliminary on-track wagering estimates showed a slight increase over last year, although final figures were not available. "They look like they'll be better by $100,000 to $200,000 over last year. We're off to a great start," said Robert Kulina, New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority's vice president of Thoroughbred racing. ... Frank Loccisano's Doctoressa, trained by Gary Contessa, scored a half-length upset victory at odds of 21.30-to-1 in the $50,000 Politely Stakes on May 28, covering a mile in 1:36.95 over firm turf. It was the first stakes win for the bay mare by Doc's Leader out of Trois Cloches, by Val de l'Orne (Fr). ... Stakes winners on the May 27 opening day card were Rabbit's Foot Stable's Kwik as a Wink in the $45,000 Revidere Stakes and Janis Gerace's Loaded Gun, who defended his title in the $45,000 John J. Reilly Handicap for New Jersey-breds.