Bradester Carries On in Monmouth Cup

Joseph Sutton's Bradester collected his first grade II victory and continued his success at Monmouth Park, coming off a score in the July 5 Salvator Mile Stakes (gr. III) to win the $200,000 Monmouth Cup Stakes (gr. II) at the New Jersey oval .

The race changed complexion a bit after Protonico, 7-5 favorite, was declared a late scratch as the horses went to the gate because of warming up lame, so a field of six broke with Bradester headed straight to the early lead.

The Eddie Kenneally trainee carried the group of older horses gate to wire in the 1 1/16-mile test, running fractions of :24.46, :47.81, 1:11.38, and 1:35.88, then holding safe by 2 3/4 lengths over 2014 Monmouth Cup winner Valid in a final time of 1:42.43 over a fast track. Freestyler was third, followed home by Grasshoppin, Pants On Fire, and Just Call Kenny. Irish You Well also scratched.

Bradester, a 5-year-old by Lion Heart, who was ridden by Corey Lanerie, adds the grade II to a trio of grade III victories that include the Ack Ack Handicap and Mineshaft Handicap, both in 2014. His full record stands at 7-5-2 from 19 starts for earnings of $677,732.

"He broke really sharp," Lanerie said. "He went to the front and made my job really easy. Going into the first turn, I thought I was going to have to make a decision to try to get him outside, but he grabbed the bit and pulled me right to the front. Once I got to the front I just had to nurse him along and keep him quiet so I would have something to finish "

The winner returned $3.60, $2.40, and $2.10 while Valid brought $3.40 and $2.60, with Freestyler paying $3.20.

Bradester was bred in Kentucky by Doug Branham out of the Grand Slam mare Grandestofall, and went through the sales ring three times. He sold as a juvenile at the 2012 Fasig-Tipton select sale of 2-year-olds in training for $195,000 to agent Barry Berkelhammer when consigned by Cary Frommer; was a $20,000 purchase by Frommer at the 2011 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern fall yearling sale from Marshall Silverman's consignment, and cost $13,000 when purchased by Silverman from the Four Star Sales consignment at the 2010 Keeneland November mixed breeding stock sale.

"He loves Monmouth," Kenneally said of his winner. "His record is very good here. He won the prep and now came back and won the Monmouth Cup, a grade II that is very prestigious. The scratch of Protonico affected the race for everyone. He was the class of the race, and certainly not having him in there made it easier for everybody. You don't ever want to see anybody scratch, but that certainly changed the complexion of the race. It was a decisive victory indeed and we're fortunate it worked out well. The horse relaxed nicely on the front end and had a lot for the stretch drive."

Earlier on the card, Wildcat Red took the $100,000 Teddy Drone Stakes, finishing six furlongs in 1:09.01 when winning by a head over Stallwalkin' Dude, who nosed out Delta Bluesman for the show. 

Third in the July 5 Smile Sprint Stakes (gr. II) at Gulfstream Park last time out, the 4-year-old son of D'wildcat   collected his sixth win from 16 starts for Honors Stable Corp. and trainer Jose Garoffalo. It was his first score of 2015 and his first since winning the June 28 Quality Road Stakes in 2014, after which he finished third in last year's William Hill Haskell Invitational (gr. I).

Wildcat Red returned $9.40, $4.80, and $3.80.

"My horse was really quick," jockey Paco Lopez said. "I knew I didn't need to make the lead. I rode him in Florida and I know this horse. He's a fighter. He can go inside, he can go outside, and he was okay going in between those horses. He's got a lot of heart. He's a really nice horse."

"It's great to be back at Monmouth Park and winning," Garoffalo said. "It was a tough race, but he showed his class. He showed that he loves this track and despite all the speed, all the problems in the stretch, he was good enough to beat them. We're happy because he proved that he can come back, and he showed that he can run anywhere."