Frank Calabrese’s
Romacaca looked powerful winning the $200,000 Taylor Made Matchmaker Stakes (G3),
and Bruno Schickedanz’s Yummy With Butter turned the tables on an old rival in
the $200,000 Oceanport Stakes (G3), the major events on the Haskell undercard
at Monmouth Park Sunday.
Romacaca, trained by
Nick Canani and ridden by E.T. Baird, tracked a quick pace set by Marquet
Madness and then asserted herself in midstretch to open a daylight lead on her
pursuers. The 5-year-old mare scored by a length and a quarter and stopped the
timer in a very fast 1:46.54 for a mile and an eighth on firm turf, just a few
ticks off the course record of 1:46.39.
Ravi’s Song was up
for second, a neck in front of the fast-closing Perfect Shirl. C.S. Silk, the
5-2 favorite in the field of 10 fillies and mares, held the lead briefly, but
faded to be last.
Romacaca paid $13.20,
$5.80 and $4.40 for the victory and topped the $67.20 exacta with Ravi’s Song,
who returned $4.80 and $3.80. Perfect Shirl was $4.60 to show.
This was the fifth
straight victory for Romacaca, who took Monmouth’s Miss Liberty Stakes last out.
“She’s a super nice
filly to have,” Canani said. “She raced great.”
Baird said, “She
broke really well. There were some others in there who had speed, so I just let
her come out running. She relaxed well enough to have something left in the
end.”
Yummy With Butter
and Sayif renewed their rivalry in the Oceanport, setting all the pace from
gate to wire. In the Battlefield Stakes last time they met, Sayif held the lead
to the wire, but this time Yummy With Butter went by in deep stretch to score
by a length and a quarter. Sayif was second by a half-length over Baryshnikov,
the 9-5 favorite in the field of seven.
Trained by Yvon
Belsoeur and ridden by Paco Lopez, Yummy With Butter paid $20.20, $8.40 and
$3.80 across the board and topped a $136 exacta after stepping the mile and a
sixteenth of firm turf in 1:40 1/5.
Sayif, off at 10-1,
paid $10.40 and $5.40 and Baryshnikov paid $2.80 to show.
“I told Paco let’s
not be late this time,” Belsoeur said. “Last time, we got caught by a horse on
the lead that got away from us. We were just a little late.”
“We just couldn’t
get to that horse (Sayif) last time,” Lopez said, “but that race was at a mile.
Today there was extra distance. Turning for home, he was able to outkick the
leader and get the job done.”
Yummy With Butter, a
7-year-old son of Silvador who races for Bruno Schickedanz, was scoring his
first victory since 2009. The Ontario-bred has now won six of 31 lifetime
starts.
“He was training
like a Grade 1 horse,” Belsoeur said, and this was a Grade 3 race so I was
pretty confident. We’ll look at the Cliff Hanger (Grade 3, Sept. 4).”