Monmouth Park

Saturday

NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes

(Grade 1)

IT was a strange sight - after weeks of dry weather here - to see wet, sloppy tracks in the US for the big races there last weekend. The Monmouth card had a weather delay of about 20 minutes.

The Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes, worth $1,005,000 over nine furlongs, was the highlight. It saw the Preakness Stakes winner Napoleon Solo bidding to consolidate his position as one of the best three-year-olds in the US.

Surprisingly he did not go off favourite, that honour going to the beaten Derby favourite and Blue Grass winner Further Ado. Napoleon Solo broke well and raced slightly off the rail, leading outsider Baby Vino through the early stages as Further Ado raced behind them.

It was obvious before the final turn that Napoleon Solo was going better than Further Ado but, when it came to getting the better of Baby Vino, that son of Vino Rosso kept finding more. At the line, he had held the Preakness winner by half a length, a huge win for another female trainer in Lindsay Schultz and jockey Jorge Vargas, his first Grade 1 victory. He posted on X later that day: “11:16 pm I have watched that Haskell 10 times now, saw myself on TV, yea, I still don’t believe that happen.”

Iron Honor was three and a half lengths back in third as Further Ado faded to a disappointing fifth of the seven runners.

Female trainers

“It means so much more because you can’t say he beat an average field, these are real solid horses,” said trainer Lindsay Schultz who, in a great year for female trainers, (winning the Derby and Belmont Stakes) is the first woman trainer to win the Haskell. Schultz was winning her first Grade 1 race win since becoming a trainer in 2021.

Baby Vino came into the Haskell off a win in the Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth in June, a prep to the Haskell.

Baby Vino won by over 10 lengths that day with a speed figure that made him more competitive in the Haskell than his 28/1 odds indicated.

The Travers Stakes at Saratoga in August is a possibility for the colt owned by Cosmo Stables and Delta Squad Racing.

Chad Summers, trainer of Napoleon Solo, said: “It seemed like he wasn’t comfortable on the track but you have to play the game the way it is drawn up,”

In the rain, the Haskell day had a crowd of 35,608.

Splendora in style

Also on the card, the Grade 2 Molly Pitcher Stakes worth $500,000 went to the favourite, the Bob Baffert-trained consistent mare Splendora, who had no trouble in beating Chad Brown’s Lost Horizon by five and a half lengths under Flavien Prat.

Winner of last year’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint and seven of her last eight starts, she went to the lead early and victory was never in doubt. “She’s gold right now,” Baffert said.

The Grade 2 turf contest, the United Nations Stakes over a mile and three furlongs, also went to the favourite. Klaravich Stables, Chad Brown and Flavien Prat combining with the British-bred (by Fittocks Stud & Arrow Farm & Stud) Program Trading, who picked up another good prize, winning by two and three-quarter lengths from Uncle’s Gold.

Godolphin’s Knightsbridge stepped up in trip to race nine furlongs and cruised to an odds-on front-running 10-length victory over Money Game in the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup Stakes. It was his third graded race win of the year as well as a second to Nysos in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap where he was three-quarters of a length in front of Journalism.

The Bill Mott-trained Knightsbridge and Flavien Prat went straight to the lead and the five-year-old son of Darley stallion Nyquist was chased by Skippylongstocking before putting that one away.

Saratoga Saturday

Dunkin’ Diana Stakes (Grade 1)

THE highlight at the Spa was the Grade 1 Dunkin’ Diana Stakes for older mares on turf over nine furlongs.

Chad Brown held a strong hand and it was his favourite, the five-year-old Kathynmarissa, a daughter of American Pharoah, who prevailed by half a length under Jose Ortiz, from two of her stablemates, Juddmonte’s Segesta and Klaravich Stables’ daughter of Night Of Thunder, Portfolio Duration and Kevin Philippart De Foy’s Amo Racing runner Cathedral.

Owned by Michael Caruso and Michael Dubb, it was the five-year-old’s first Grade 1 win.

The winner came from the back of the pack with a sustained wide run in the stretch to collar her stablemate Segesta in the final strides.

Del Mar Saturday

HE may have been the second best three-year-old colt of 2025 but there’s no doubting that Journalism has a pretty big fan club of his own. The Curlin four-year-old, racing in the Michael Tabor colours, got back to winning ways in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar, and not without a bit of a scare.

Against four inferior opponents (infection kept morning-line second favourite Full Serrano on the sidelines), Journalism was expected to take the San Diego with relative ease despite his top weight of 125lb, giving 5lb or more to his rivals.

Last to load, he came out slowly and was a good five lengths behind the second last horse through the first furlong. He closed up and by the time the field passed the half-mile mark, Journalism was racing outside, just behind the leaders.

John Sadler’s The Goat made a move turning into the stretch, as did Iron Man Cal and Shea Brennan.

Journalism had the answers when Shea Brennan made the first run. Jockey Umberto Rispoli was in the clear on the outside and his mount found plenty go past and hold Shea Brennan.

The colt runs for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Don Alberto Stable, Bridlewood Farm, Elayne Stables 5, Robert LaPenta, and Coolmore.

Trainer Michael McCarthy now will aim for the Grade 1 $1 million Pacific Classic Stakes on August 22nd.