Monmouth Park: Epona’s Hope steps down in class for Goldwood Stakes
Epona’s Hope should be tough to catch in the $100,000 Goldwood Stakes at Monmouth Park on Saturday, and trainer Tyler Servis is expecting a big effort from the filly as she steps down from graded stakes company.
Epona’s Hope drew the outside post in a field of eight fillies and mares and will have leading jockey Paco Lopez aboard for the 5 1/2-furlong turf race. Last month at Churchill Downs, she finished third, 3 3/4 lengths behind the impressive winner Queen Maxima, in the Grade 3 Unbridled Sidney Stakes. Epona’s Hope led for most of that 5 1/2-furlong turf race, the eighth straight start in which she’s been the early pacesetter.
“I think if it had been a little firmer ground, that would have been to her advantage,” Servis told track publicity. “I thought the turf course was barely ‘good.’ There was quite a bit of rain that day. But it was time to give her a shot at something bigger. I was happy with her performance. She didn’t break great, and then she rushed up, but she dug in when it was time to run. The winner was just better that day.”
Epona’s Hope began her year with three consecutive victories in five-furlong turf races at Gulfstream Park, including stakes wins in the Captiva Island and the Ladies’ Turf Sprint. She’s the 8-5 morning-line favorite for the Goldwood.
“There’s a lot of speed in this race, but I don’t think anyone in the field is as quick as she is,” Servis told track publicity. “The outside post gives us some options. If someone wants to go crazy fast to the lead, she can sit a stalking trip. If she makes the lead, she will be tough to catch.”
Rosie Jeeks will start from the rail for the powerful connections of Chad Brown and jockey Samy Camacho, who have teamed up to win at a 27% clip at Monmouth over the past two seasons, with a $2.07 return on investment for the typical $2 win bet. The 4-year-old filly won a first-level allowance on the Monmouth turf by half a length last month.
The field also includes Bel Pensiero (4-1), a three-time turf winner who was fifth on dirt in a stakes race for New Jersey-breds last month.
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Nick Fortuna is a freelance writer based in Ocala, Fla. He was a reporter and editor at Bloomberg News, a copy editor at Dow Jones, the lead writer and editor of the FTBOA's publications, and the copy chief and Tampa correspondent for Daily Racing Form. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, The New York Times and The Washington Post.