A pair of three-year-olds who made their mark in classic preps in Florida over the winter will look to get back into winning form in the $150,000 Pegasus S., a 1 1/16-mile prep for next month’s Haskell (G1) and one of four stakes on Saturday’s 12-race card at Monmouth Park.
Hades, who upset champion Fierceness in the Holy Bull (G3), was a well-beaten fifth in the Florida Derby (G1) behind that rival, and later ran another uninspiring race in the Lexington (G3) when outfitted with blinkers.
Domestic Product, who finished two lengths second to Hades in the Holy Bull, also franked the form of that race by taking the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) next out. However, the Chad Brown trainee never got involved in the Kentucky Derby (G1), finishing 22 lengths behind Mystik Dan in 13th.
Deep-closing Uncle Heavy, the Withers (G3) winner, subsequently ran fifth in the Wood Memorial (G2) and sixth in the Preakness (G1). Tuscan Sky, stablemate to Domestic Product in the barn of Chad Brown, is probably better than what he showed in running seventh in the Wood in his stakes debut.
Other notables include Otello, twice unplaced after taking the one-mile Mucho Macho Man S. at Gulfstream on Jan. 1, and Sea Streak, a 7 1/4-length winner of the Long Branch S. at Monmouth last out.
The $150,000 Salvator Mile (G3) marks the return to action of Bright Future, who captured the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) over 1 1/4 miles at Saratoga last September. The lightly raced son of Curlin has now been out since making a belated run for sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) in November.
Also returning from an extended layoff is Stage Raider, the stakes-winning half-brother to Triple Crown winner Justify. Notable turf miler Shirl’s Speight takes another shot at the Salvator after running third in the 2022 edition, while Oscar Eclipse, Coastal Mission, and Sherlock’s Jewel are other potential contenders.
A well-matched field of nine older horses competes in the $150,000 Monmouth (G3) over nine furlongs on the turf. Adhamo returns to the course over which he captured the 2022 United Nations (G1), but will have to run better than he has of late.
Tawny Port and Siege of Boston drop from tougher spots at Aqueduct and Churchill Downs, respectively, while Running Bee and Beatbox are likely to find conditions much firmer than what they encountered last month in the Dinner Party (G3) at Pimlico.
Chad Brown will take two shots at the $150,000 Eatontown (G3) for fillies and mares going 1 1/16 miles on the turf. The least exposed of the duo is Maman Joon, a daughter of Sea the Stars who is unbeaten in two starts on grass since her importation from England. Her stablemate, Tax Implications, has been stakes-placed four times.
Also lining up are the stakes winners Spirit and Glory and Sacred Wish, while stakes newcomer No Show Sammy Jo remains with upside for trainer Graham Motion.
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