Starstruck Heads Cast in Monmouth's Violet
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Calumet Farm's Starstruck, a handy winner last time out in the WinStar Matchmaker Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Monmouth Park on the Haskell Day card, headlines the Jersey Shore track's Aug. 23 feature, the $100,000 Violet Stakes (gr. IIIT).
The 5-year-old chestnut mare won't have it easy in the nine-furlong event as she'll be challenged by a full gate of older fillies and mares.
Starstruck has an affinity for the turf at Monmouth, having taken last year's Matchmaker as well, and a stellar pedigree, to boot. An Irish-bred daughter of Galileo, the hottest stallion on the planet with 31 stakes winners this year (183 career added-money winners), Starstruck is out of Agnetha, champion 3-year-old filly of 2002 in England and Ireland.
Earlier this year Starstruck placed in a pair of turf stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, then disappointed in the Gallorette Handicap (gr. IIIT) at Pimlico and the Robert G. Dick Memorial Stakes (gr. IIIT) at Delaware Park for trainer Larry Jones.
The runner-up in the Matchmaker was Robert Evans' Irish Mission, a 5-year-old daughter of Giant's Causeway —Misty Mission, by Miswaki. At 3 the Canadian-bred won the classic Breeders' Stakes at Woodbine after capturing the Woodbine Oaks Presented by Budweiser and running second in the Queen's Plate.
Don't count on Evans being at Monmouth; his Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Tonalist will be one of the favorites in the Travers Stakes (gr. I) the same afternoon in upstate New York.
Sycamore Racing's Nellie Cashman figures to be a danger if she goes. The 4-year-old filly by Mineshaft is cross-entered in the 1 1/16-mile Ballston Spa Stakes (gr. IIT) at Saratoga Race Course.
There are strong contenders galore in the Violet, including Pin Oak Stable's Overheard (by Macho Uno ), winner of the Dance Smartly Stakes (Can-IIT) last out at Woodbine; Eatontown Stakes (gr. IIIT) runner-up Triple Arch, a non-factor last time out on the dirt in the Molly Pitcher Stakes (gr. II) for Crossed Sabres Farm; and Zanim Meahjohn's Rusty Slipper, a daughter of Lemon Drop Kid who won the Little Silver Stakes over the local turf layout last May and was a good fourth in her 2014 bow in the June 21 Eatontown.
[raceEntries date="8/23/2014" country="USA" trackid="MTH" racenumber="11"]