Striking Maiden Winner Meru Returns in Smoke Glacken

Fresh off a head-turning debut July 13, Meru ventures into stakes company Sept. 21 in the $75,000 Smoke Glacken Stakes at Monmouth Park, a race trainer Jorge Duarte Jr. hopes will lead to higher-level opportunities.

Matched against six foes at six furlongs, Meru is heavily favored at 3-2 on the morning line, largely based on his first-out performance, also at Monmouth. That day he wowed observers with a 6 1/4-length maiden score under jockey Jevian Toledo, speeding five furlongs on a fast track in :57.32.

Typical of a first-time starter, he made a couple of miscues, getting antsy in the paddock and breaking half a step slowly. Not that it mattered against maiden competition. He quickly vaulted into contention, pressing early leader Embolden, who would later win two races at Colonial Downs, one of them the restricted Jamestown Stakes, and then left him behind at the top of the stretch.

"So we kind of gave him a little time off, and the timing didn't suit us to go to Saratoga," said Duarte. "Knowing he got a little hot in the paddock, we aimed for this race, which was back to our home track. We wanted keep everything the same, give him another experience."

Depending on the outcome of the Smoke Glacken, and whether he is hard pressed during the race, graded stakes could follow. Duarte is optimistic the colt can stretch out to longer distances.

"If he runs really impressively and does things easy, you have the Champagne (G1) a couple of weeks away," he said, referring the one-mile, $500,000 race at Belmont Park Oct. 5. "You have Keeneland. We're going to nominate accordingly and see how he does Saturday."

A son of Sky Mesa  out of the Elusive Quality mare Lady Lavery, Meru flashed speed as early as this spring. In April he breezed a furlong in :9 4/5 prior to the Ocala Breeders' Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, from which he was purchased for $300,000 by owner Colts Neck Stables by farm manager Alan Goldberg with agent Charlie Boden. Top Line Sales consigned him at OBS after he was sold to Zayat Stables in 2018 for $75,000 as a yearling at Fasig-Tipton's The October Sale.

Besides Meru, three other colts make their second starts in the Smoke Glacken after encouraging first-out efforts. Two of those, Shanghaischool and As Seen On TV, were also debut winners at Monmouth, and the other, All Eyes West, narrowly lost when second, beaten a nose, when unveiled Aug. 11.

The field is completed by Newstome, who faded to seventh in the Rosie's Stakes at Colonial Aug. 31, and longshots My Runner Runner and Gravel Road.

Positioned mid-card at Monmouth on Saturday, the Smoke Glacken goes as the fifth race with a post time of 3:05 p.m. EDT.

Entries: Smoke Glacken S.

Monmouth Park, Saturday, September 21, 2019, Race 5

• STK
• 6f
• Dirt
• $75,000
• 2 yo
• 3:05 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Newstome (PA)	Antonio A. Gallardo	118	Michael J. Trombetta	7/2
2	2Meru (KY)	Jevian Toledo	118	Jorge Duarte, Jr.	3/2
3	3All Eyes West (KY)	Nik Juarez	116	Jason Servis	4/1
4	4Shanghaischool (KY)	Harry Hernandez	116	Dimitrios K. Synnefias	15/1
5	5My Runner Runner (KY)	Wilmer A. Garcia	116	Eduardo E. Jones	20/1
6	6Gravel Road (PA)	Anthony Y. Nunez	118	Randy Allen	12/1
7	7As Seen On Tv (FL)	Hector Rafael Diaz, Jr.	118	Kelly J. Breen	2/1