Blue Heaven Farm’s Maple Forest stormed down the homestretch to post a length and a quarter victory in
the $75,000 Dearly Precious Stakes as Perfect Officer wore down Varsity to take
the $65,000 Wolf Hill Stakes by a neck on Sunday at Monmouth Park.
Trained by Todd Pletcher,
Maple Forest covered the six furlongs over the fast main track in 1:09 1/5 and
returned $5.40, $3.20 and $2.60 as the favorite in the field of six 3-year-old
fillies. Moonlit Malibu completed the $22.60 exacta and paid
$5.60 and $3. It was another length and
a quarter back to Bold Affair, who paid $2.60 to show.
“The race went fast, finishing
in 1:09 and one,” said winning jockey Joe Bravo. “This filly did it handily. She did it easily and could have a bright
future.”
A daughter of Forestry from
the American Chance mare Maple Syrple, Maple Forest sports a record of 3-3-0
from eight starts and earnings of $152,566.
A Michael Pino-trainee,
Perfect Officer stepped the 5 ½ furlongs over good turf in 1:01 4/5 and
returned $6.60, $2.80 and $2.60 in the Wolf Hill. Varsity rounded out the $17.80 exacta and
paid $3 and $2.80. It was another two and
three-quarter lengths back to Ju Jitsu Jax, who paid $6 to show.
“The plan wasn’t to be that
far back,” said winning jockey Kendrick Carmouche. “Once I was able to get him to the outside in
the stretch I knew I was the winner because he has a pretty good kick.”
Sunday’s stakes score was
the seventh in 23 starts for Perfect Officer, a 5-year-old gelding by Officer
from the Perfect Vision mare Perfect Tradition.
He has earned $253,281.