Monmouth Park Full Card Analysis – Saturday, 8/29/26 – By Eric Solomon

Two year old fillies will go one mile in the Sorority Stakes which is the Saturday Feature at Monmouth Park today. The first of eight races this afternoon is set to go off at 12:50 PM (EDT).

I’ll be covering the Monmouth Park meet for the 6th consecutive year on the ITM Blog, along with posting some updates and thoughts from time to time on Twitter @EricSolomon718. Feel free to reach out!

Race 1:

Beaten $16K-$14K claimers will go  1 1/16 miles on the turf course in the opener today. Seven of the eight runners entered in this race qualified under the N3L condition. Manoah’s Glory (#7) is a three year old colt that has three career victories. He’s a class dropper that certainly makes a lot of sense in this race. He had two wins on the Tapeta over the winter at Gulfstream before switching to the turf. He was outclassed in his first turf try, but he was very sharp when winning for the third time in a beaten $40K-$30K claiming race here in May. Jorge Delgado shipped him to Presque Isle Downs to run on their Tapeta course in allowance company. He did not look the same in his two starts there, finishing out the board both times while beaten over 25 combined lengths. He comes back to turf and gets some significant class relief. While I’d like to have a clear explanation as to what went wrong in his last two starts, I think he is still strictly the one to beat in this race. I’ll back up with Son of a Slew (#2), who is making the first start off the Devon Dougherty claim. He has decent tactical speed, which should serve him well from an inside draw in this race. In his last try on the turf, he was seen finishing a close third at this level. I’m willing to look past his last effort against lesser competition on the dirt where he was completely flat. 

Race 2:

Fillies and mares will go a mile and 70 yards on the dirt in this $7,500-$6,500 N2L claiming race. I like Cash the Check (#1) in this race for Tony Wilson. She is a three year old filly sired by Gunnevera. She was a winner back in December with $16K maiden claimers at Tampa, which was her only career try at two turns. She’s had a few setbacks since being claimed for $16K that afternoon, but she looked a lot better in her last race, which was a sprint race for beaten $10K claimers at Parx. She’s making her third start off the layoff now, while having two straight sprint races leading into a route race. I think there’s a decent chance that we’ll see her run another career top figure in this race. Madam Prosecutor (#6) will likely be favored in this spot. She just missed in an off the turf race for beaten $16K-$14K claimers on 7/19. She did all of the heavy lifting in that spot before being nailed on the wire. She failed to be as effective in her last start when trying the turf again. She drops to the lowest level of competition yet in her career. She’s more consistent than most in this spot. 

Race 3:

Two year olds will dash five furlongs on the dirt in this maiden special weight contest. Heirnol (#3) and Diamond Juan (#6) are the only two runners with race day experience whereas the other seven entrants are firsters. I think Let Em Go (#9) is an interesting win candidate in this race for Kathleen O’Connell. He’s sired by Khozan, who gets 16% debut winners from his offspring when they’re sprinting on the dirt. He has a full brother that was a winner on debut and some other siblings that were competitive at first asking. I like the outside draw for him in this race and 6-1 (ML) would be a very fair price. Heirnol ran well enough in his first try to get on board with backing her in her second career try, She’ll take on the boys today after finishing second against some promising local runners in her debut. She’ll get a three pound weight break on the rest of the field today, which isn’t much, but it’s something. Terri Pompay has had a strong meet and while her numbers two year olds aren’t great, I think this filly is worth using. On deeper tickets, I’ll include Sol Mayor (#4) for Jorge Delgado. This barn was hot coming out of the gate with their two year olds, but in that department, things have flattened out a bit. THis one has solid works and the barn carries enough gravitas that this one will likely go off at odds lower than his morning line figure. 

Race 4:

We’ll head back to the turf with a $40K-$30K maiden claiming race for fillies and mares going 5 ½ furlongs. I made a case for Authentic Lady (#1) in a race at this level and distance last month, however that race was taken off the turf and she wound up being scratched. She ran back a week later in a one mile race at this level where she ran into a beat in Omahamoiselle, who romped by 8 lengths. I like her better as a sprinter and I like her fit in this spot. Her debut in Maryland was better than it looks on paper. My Honey Mother (#2) makes sense as a first time starter in this spot. The dam has produced some runners that have won at first asking and her sire, Modernist, has two debut winners in turf sprint races this month alone. The works are solid for a barn that is more than capable of having a horse ready at first asking. I’ll back up with the Saratoga invader, Solaia (#4). She has two decent efforts with $55K maiden claimers at Saratoga in her last two starts. She’ll get class relief, which will be useful, but she does seem a bit one-paced. The price could be too short for me to take, but this filly does seem to fit well with these.

Race 5: 

New Jersey breds will sprint six furlongs in this optional $15K claiming/N1X allowance race. On paper, this looks like a good showdown between Doin This (#7) and Superfractor (#8). However, both of these runners have the same running style, and I do worry that they could cancel each other out. Speed was kind last weekend when Doin This put his competition to sleep in a state bred $100K N2L claiming race. He belongs at this level, but I think he’s going to have to work hard to make the lead. I’ll support Roma Art (#6) instead here. He was a gutsy maiden winner on debut here at the end of June. He faced a salty group at this level in his first try against winners and as never involved despite taking a decent amount of the public’s money. The course was very sloppy that day and he had the difficult task of racing after lingering in the paddock for about thirty minutes during a weather delay. I’m willing to draw a line through that effort and highlight this as a spot for him to run a better race where he gets the by the front-runners late. I’ll use both Doin This and Superfractor on the A line as well and I’d definitely be more bullish with either runner if for some reason one of them defects from this spot. 

Race 6:

We’ll have another race for New Jersey breds as these colts and geldings will go 1 1/16 miles over the turf. This race came up pretty salty. There should be a honest tempo in this race with both Frankie G (#2) and Gold Trust (#7) likely vying for the lead and Midnight Story (#1) and One Time Willard (#4) pushing them along. Post Command (#6) is a runner that could be rolling late. He was a winner at the state bred N1X level three back when breaking from Post 11 on the turf here. That is not an easy post to score from as there have been no other horses to win from that post at that rail setting over the last three seasons. Toss his United Nations effort two back. He was a decent third against some horses in starter handicap company last time out. He’s back with state bred foes and should get a sweet setup here. Spiritinthenight (#8) could be the runner that is most likely to be in last place as they make the first turn out of the chute, however, that may work to his advantage. He closed well to be third in the Irish War Cry Handicap two starts back. He ran well in his only other turf route to be a close 4th at the Meadowlands last fall. His two dirt efforts this year weren’t anything special, but I do think he’s a better horse on the grass. This is a quick turnaround coming out of a handicap race on Sunday, but I’m expecting a solid try here. On deeper tickets, One Time Willard may have lost a step, but he’s returning to state bred competition for the first time in over a year. He was a close second in the Irish War Cry Handicap that day. He ran well three back in open N2X company, so perhaps the change in scenery from Colonial to here will serve him well. 

Race 7, The $100K Sorority Stakes:

Two year old fillies will go one mile on the dirt in the featured race today. It’s always interesting to see when a trainer enters a first time starter in this kind of race. Revenge of the Sis (#3) is a full sister to Dorth Vader who was the winner of the Grade 1 Ogden Phipps Stakes at Saratoga last year. Interestingly enough, while that mare broke her maiden in second career start, going 5 ½ furlongs on the dirt, she wasn’t great on debut. Horses sired by the 2017 Haskell Girvin, tend to fare well on this course. I’m intrigued enough to make her the top pick in this race. Brendam Walsh is sending out his speedy second time starter, Emphatic (#8) is the other runner that I’ll use here. She was bet like a good thing in her debut at Colonial and she did not disappoint her backers, winning by almost seven lengths. She’s bred to handle the distance and should be right in the mix with this group.

Race 8:

We’ll close out the afternoon with $16K-$14K N2X claiming race going 1 1/16 miles over the turf course. Funky See Funky Do (#2) came to Monmouth two back and was able to break his maiden in a $16K-$14K maiden claimer at this distance. Chad Summers brought him back to his Saratoga base where he last ran, finishing off the board in a much tougher $35K N2L claiming race there. He continues to do the right things in the morning and should be tough while dropping back down in class. Roscommon (#7) has two strong races at this condition with a dull effort against tougher sandwiched in the middle. He wound up setting the pace while breaking from the rail last time out. That was a race run over a course that was labeled “good”, and definitely had some heaviness to it from earlier rain. He stays at the right level and should be right in the mix with this group today. Two Dollar Bill (#8) is also a p;layer in this race while getting a significant rider upgrade. An apprentice rider is getting off in favor of Edwin Gonzalez, who is winning with 36% of his mounts at this meet. This gelding scored two back with $16K-$14K maidens claimers. Like Roscommon, he’s coming out of the same race on the softer going. He’s clearly a better animal on the turf and he has upside in this race as well. 

Meet Statistics: Top Pick Winners 80/300 (26.7%), $469.70 ($1.57 ROI)

Turf Data for Each Rail Setting

I kept data from every turf race at the 2024 and the 2025 meeting to see if there were any trends on the turf at any of the various rail positions. I tried to quantify the data below and in 2024, it appears that the farther the rails go out, the more fair the track plays. Lead indicates that a horse won the race in wire to wire fashion. Stalk indicates that they were within five lengths of the leader at the first call in the race. For the purposes of this data set, a closer is a horse that rallied from five lengths or more behind the leader at any point of call in the race. The closer stats are listed next to the rail settings. I’ll continue to track this data for 2026 to see if this trend continues. 

0 Feet (2026)

12 Feet (2026)

24 Feet (2026)

36 Feet