Almanaar Comes off the Bench for Monmouth Stakes Score
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Photo: Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO
Almanaar wins the Monmouth Stakes at Monmouth Park
Despite being idle for more than 16 months, Shadwell Stable's Almanaar reinforced two well-known beliefs in the $157,500 Monmouth Stakes (G3T) at Monmouth Park. One is that age is just a number. The other is that trainer Chad Brown has the rare ability to have a turf horse ready, no matter how long it has been between races.
Almanaar made his 8-year-old debut a winning one Oct. 10, capturing the Monmouth Stakes for the second consecutive year with a strong rally to give Brown a 1-2 finish in the 1 1/8-mile turf test.
The gelded son of Dubawi who rolled home one length ahead of Serve the King last raced May 25, 2019, at Monmouth Park when he won the Monmouth Stakes, then a grade 2. Before that race, he had been idle for four months.
None of that mattered as the 3-2 favorite in the field of nine 3-year-olds and up used his strong late kick to overpower the field. After the opening half-mile, and even after three-quarters had been run, Almanaar had just one horse beat until he made his explosive move coming out of the turn, overhauling Bal Harbour while having more than enough in reserve to hold off Serve the King, who finished 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Bal Harbour.
"He has been training well at Belmont the whole time," said Luis Cabrera, who oversees Brown's Monmouth string. "The guys there really like the way he has been training. So he has been doing well. These type of horses know what to do. They know where the wire is. So you don't worry about the layoff with those types. And he has a lot of class. We know that.
"He ran great. I'm very happy with his performance. I can't say I'm surprised because this horse has been training consistently. He has not missed a work. He was fit and he was ready. Chad always makes sure the horses are 100% ready to run."
Almanaar won for the eighth time in 21 starts, a record that includes a victory in the 2017 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap (G1T).
Though far back in the field early, jockey Joe Bravo said he knew exactly what he was sitting on and tried to be patient through fractions of :48.82 to the half, 1:12.93 to three-quarters, and 1:37.31 for the mile.
The final time on a firm turf course was 1:49.22.
It was just two weeks ago that Brown trainees finished 1-2 in the Violet Stakes on the grass at Monmouth, with She's Got You winning off a 12-week layoff.
"Only Chad Brown does this. He's amazing," Bravo said. "This is the second time this year that he has done this in a stakes race at Monmouth Park by winning off a long layoff. (This is) an old horse, but he's a trouper. He's so strong and powerful that I just wanted to give him some daylight turning for home. Class prevailed."
Almanaar paid $5 to win, boosting his earnings to $900,349.
The winner was bred in Great Britain out of the Bahhare mare Baqah. He is one of three winners from his dam, who captured the Prix de Sandringham (G2) and was group 1-placed.