After scoring an impressive victory in the $175,000 Long
Branch Stakes on Saturday at Monmouth Park, Mill House’s Trappe Shot may have
earned himself a ticket to face Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver in the Aug. 1
IZOD Haskell Invitational.
Trappe Shot broke alertly and settled in behind pacesetter Southern Ridge going
into the first turn. Up the backstretch Trappe Shot found himself last of four
for a brief moment before shooting up the inside and never looking back,
capturing the mile and a sixteenth Long Branch by 2 ½ lengths.
“He’s obviously a very nice horse,” said winning trainer Kiaran McLaughlin.
“We’ll talk it over with the owners, but going into this race we thought if he
ran well we’d bring him back in three weeks for the Haskell.
“I don’t think this race took too much out of him. He’s certainly bred for the
distance and handled everything perfectly today.”
Trappe Shot went the mile and a sixteenth over the fast main track in 1:43 2/5
and returned $3 and $2.10. Nacho Friend paid $3.80 to place and finished 3 ½
lengths ahead of Southern Ridge. Latigo
Shore was last of the
quartet. There was no show wagering offered on the Long Branch.
“We wanted to play the race by how everyone broke,” said winning jockey Alan
Garcia. “We did think we would be behind horses and make one run. I had a lot
of horse the whole way, and I had to move inside the leader [Southern Ridge],
but I knew the only way someone was going to beat me was to run a big race. Two
turns was no problem for him today.”
The Long Branch
win was the fourth in five starts for Trappe Shot, a 3-year-old colt by Tapit
from the Private Account mare Shopping. Trappe Shot has now earned $187,050 for
his connections.
In the day’s other stakes event, the $100,000 Battlefield, Banrock shot through
an opening on the inside turning for home, but could not hold off the late
charge of Violon Sacre, who reported home a neck winner in the mile turf test.
Violon Sacre returned $9.80, $4.20 and $2.80 and covered the distance over firm
going in 1:35 1/5. Banrock completed the $49 exacta and paid $3.60 and $2.60.
It was another length and a quarter back to Whatsthescript, who paid $2.80 to
show.
“He ran very well last time, he just got a little bit tired at the end,” said
winning trainer Patrick Biancone. “He was still trying to acclimate to America. He was
training very well leading up to this race and we were very confident.
“We’ll take a look at how he comes out of this race and the race on Haskell Day
[$200,000 Oceanport Stakes, Aug. 1] is a possibility.”
Ridden by Pablo Fragoso, Violon Sacre earned his eighth
career win in taking the Battlefield. The 5-year-old by Stravinsky out of the
Kendor mare Histoire Saint was making just his second start in the U.S. On May 31,
he was fourth in an allowance event at Monmouth.