Following Monday’s Memorial Day card, handle for the holiday
weekend at Monmouth Park totaled $24,912,191 a 122% increase over last year,
when $11,222,330 was wagered. A crowd of 10,366 were on-hand Monday to see
Gypsy’s Warning notch a nose victory over Maram in the Grade 3 $150,000
Eatontown Stakes and Funny Feeling score a convincing 2 ¼ length win in the
$100,000 Just Smashing Stakes.
Total attendance for the 3-day weekend was 38,543, a 15.5% increase over 2009,
as on-track handle came in at $2,925,073, a 44% increase.
A 5-year-old mare, Gypsy’s Warning was making her first start outside her
native South Africa
in winning the Eatontown. She stepped the mile and a sixteenth over firm turf
1:41 3/5 and paid $16.40, $6.60 and $3.60.
“She was already proven in South Africa,
but you still never know what to expect first time in the U.S.,” said
winning jockey Jose Valdivia Jr. “I was very pleased that she went by Maram
because she’s a very nice filly. She’s got a big turn of foot. I expect big
things in the future for her.”
Maram, the winner of the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies turf, took command
just outside the 1/8th pole, dug in gamely to the wire, but came up a few
inches short in the photo. Sent off the 7-5 favorite in the field of five
fillies and mares, Maram returned $3.20 and $2.10 and completed the $44.40
exacta. It was another length and three-quarters back to Scolora, who paid $3
to show.
The Eatontown win was the sixth victory in 12 starts for Gypsy’s Warning, a
Group 1 winner in South
Africa, who races in the colors of Team
Valor and Green Lantern Stables. Trained by H. Graham Motion, Gypsy’s Warning
has now banked $223,579.
In the Just Smashing Stakes, 2-5 favorite Midst set early fractions of :22 flat
for the quarter and :44 4/5 for the half mile before being passed on the inside
by Full of Gut and the outside by Funny Feeling as the field of five 3-year-old
fillies turned for home. The clock stopped at 1:10 2/5 for the six furlongs
with Funny Feeling paying $13.20, $7.20 and $11.
“We’ve always been high on this horse, especially after she broke her maiden at
first asking,” said winning trainer Michael Maker. “We tried to stretch her out
earlier, but that didn’t work out. We’ll keep her sprinting from now on. She
seems to like it here so we’ll look for a spot at Monmouth.”
Full of Gut, who pressed the pacesetter early, completed the $83.60 exacta and
paid $8.60 to place and $10.40 to show. Brilliant Sunshine rallied to pay $3.40
to show after finishing another 2 ½ lengths back in third.
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Piloted by Alan Garcia, Funny Feeling now sports a record of
three wins in six career starts. The daughter of Distorted Humor from the Grade
1 winning mare Hookedonthefeelin, Funny Feeling has earned $120,036.
Live racing returns to Monmouth
Park on Friday, June 4 first post 12:50 p.m. As always, the track is open seven days a week for
simulcast racing from across the country and around the globe.