Ken and Sarah Ramsey’s
Pleasant Prince sat behind the early leaders before angling out in the lane and
getting up in the shadow of the wire to win the $54,000 allowance/optional
claiming feature at Monmouth Park on Friday.
Trained by Wesley Ward,
Pleasant Prince covered the mile and 70 yards over a fast main track in 1:41
and paid $8.60, $4.80 and $3.80. It was
a head back to pacesetter Hermosillo,
who returned $11.60 and $4 and completed the $80.80 exacta. Thomas Got Even was another neck back in
third, good for a $4.60 show price.
A 4-year-old colt by Indy
King from the Pleasant Tap mare Archduchess, Pleasant Prince was making just
his second start since finishing ninth in last year’s $5 million Breeders’ Cup
Classic.
Pleasant Prince’s victory
was the fourth on the card for Elvis Trujillo, the meet’s leading jockey. Trujillo
won the second race atop Tiger’s Charm ($6.40), the fifth with Fire King
($3.40) and the seventh aboard Crafty Concorde ($10.60).