NJ Horses Ship to Suffolk Despite Penalty

The financial penalty recently imposed by the New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association on Monmouth Park-stabled trainers who run at Suffolk Downs and then try to return did not keep anyone away from the starting gate at the Massachusetts track Aug. 6.

The New Jersey THA, which operates Monmouth under the banner of Darby Development, placed a notice on the overnight sheet that there would be a $1,000 tab per horse charged to return to the Monmouth stable area. There are no published penalties in effect for running at any other track.

In defiance of the order, 33 Monmouth-based horses passed through the Suffolk stable gate from the barns of some of Monmouth's top trainers, including Jorge Navarro, Bobby DiBona, and Eddie Plesa, Jr., who ran two horses Aug. 6 and won the last race with a horse owned by former Monmouth potential lessee Morris Bailey.

"I don't know how they could enforce that penalty. They can't write a ruling against you. There is no commission rule on this," said Miguel Santiago, who brought five horses to saddle for trainer trainer Joe Orseno. "You don't have a choice but to come here and run after you've tried to enter a horse at Monmouth three times and each time the race doesn't go.

"How can they try to penalize that horse and the connections? And how can they isolate just one track?"

Since there are no horses stabled or training at Suffolk due to the limitations of running only two days in each of three months, there is no reciprocity.

"It still makes no sense," said Santiago, who was formerly a part of the New England riding colony for 14 years. "Unless (Monmouth) is going to pay your bills, they can't tell you that you can't run in Boston and then fine you when you try to come back."

Derek Ryan saddled three horses on the Saturday card and said he was unconcerned with the financial threat of bringing them back to the Jersey Shore.

"Two of them aren't going back anyway," he said. "One is going to Mountaineer from here and one is a Mass-bred who is getting a little break after the race and going home to the farm."

The Ryan-trained Massachusetts-bred Angry Patty, a 3-year-daughter of Freud   out of the Dixie Brass mare Hello Karakorum, started her vacation auspiciously with a courageous win in the $75,000 Louise Kimball Stakes for Massachusetts-breds.

Piloted by David Amiss, who won four times with seven mounts on the 10-race card and the first three races in a row, Angry Patty took the lead in the upper stretch, surrendered it, and then battled back with a determined run up the rail to win by a head.

Angry Patty, second choice at 2-1, covered the six furlongs on the main track in 1:13.72 and was a head in front of 4-5 favorite Tania. Dr. Ruthless was another 3 1/2 lengths back. Angry Patty is owned and was bred by Timothy Ryan, no relation to the trainer.

In the co-featured $75,000 Drumtop Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, Catherine Willis' Involuntary was the gutsy winner by a head bob under Daniel Centeno after repelling inside and outside challenges in deep stretch from Shake Down Baby and Enjoy Yourself.

Trained by Arnaud Delacour, the Kentucky-bred Involuntary, by City Zip   traveled the one-mile on the turf in 1:40.56 and returned $5.60 to win her first stakes. Shake Down Baby finished second and Enjoy Yourself was third.