Let’s head over to the Jersey shore today for some nice racing from Monmouth Park! The early part of the card is not the banger of an under card we are used to, but the race wrap up with stakes races and the return of Bright Future in the last who will look to use this as a spring board into big time stakes this summer at Saratoga!

Pegasus Stakes, Monmouth Park, Race #10
Just when it looks like the 3-year-olds are done for a minute, here we are! This is the local prep for the Haskell, Monmouth’s biggest race, and the field drew light here. That leads me to the inside horse, #1 Tuscan Sky. Last out, Tuscan Sky was disappointing in the Wood, but the race was funky in more ways than one for him. He didn’t break well at all, had to steady during the race and there was an accident in front of him on the way home. All of those factors make it an easy race to simply draw a line through. He’s got the rail and tactical speed. The trip should be much improved here.

#5 Hades returns to a field that he fits with two after back to back races over his head. He won at this distance in the Holy Bull and, with Paco Lopez back aboard, should be forwardly placed here. #6 Uncle Heavy is the wild card here. He also had a bad trip in the Wood and hated the track in the Preakness. He fits with this group if he can improve off the Withers effort. The Derby was a mess for #7 Domestic Product after winning the Tampa Bay Derby with a slow number. He will have to turn the tables on Hades today, he lost to him in the Holy Bull, and improve if he wants a slice of this one.

Eatontown Stakes, Monmouth Park, Race #9
This race drew fairly deep which allows us to go price hunting. Chad Brown has a couple in here and I like the longer price, #9 Maman Joon more. She was highly thought of in Europe before shipping to the US and since getting into the Brown barn, she has started to showcase that skill. She also sports a win over the track and distance winning last time out with ease. Today’s morning line favorite, #6 Spirit and Glory, is the horse to beat off the last two races, but those were both against fields with fewer than five horses. She should get a good trip right behind the speed, but has something to prove here at too short of a price to play to win.

#1 Sacred Wish has turned her career around since moving from the dirt to the turf and is perfect at today’s distance. She has a chance to step forward today, but at 3-1, she is also too short to bet to win. The other Brown is #7 Tax Implications who is shorter priced at 7/2. I have issues with her at today’s distance, she is 0-4 going over a mile. She seems likely to hit the board, but not to win.