Monster romps by nine lengths to break his maiden May 23 at Gulfstream Park (Coglianese)
Tom Luicci/Monmouth Park
OCEANPORT, N.J. – Trainer Jose D’Angelo recognized immediately that 2-year-old colt Monster was both precocious and fast. What took a little longer to figure out was that his preferred surfaced was grass.
Ten weeks after he dazzled with a nine-length win in maiden special weight company going five furlongs on the turf at Gulfstream Park – after setting fractions of 20.4 and 43.1 – Monster will chase after his first stakes win in Saturday’s Tyro Stakes at Monmouth Park.
The $100,000 Tyro Stakes, also at five furlongs on the grass, has attracted a field of 10 freshman grass sprinters.
“He was my early 2-year-old. He was doing everything perfectly,” said D’Angelo. “So I sent him to Keeneland and he didn’t break well. That’s normal stuff for babies in their first start. I thought I would try him one more time on the dirt in a stakes race (the Kentucky Juvenile) at Churchill Downs.
“That didn’t work out the way we hoped it would so I worked him on the grass and he showed he liked it right away. Then he proved it when he won by nine lengths on the grass at Gulfstream.
“So he’s a grass horse now.”
A Florida-bred son of Leinster, Monster broke slowly from post 12 in his debut in maiden special weight company on the dirt at Keeneland on April 7. Then he chased the speed on the dirt in the Kentucky Juvenile, finishing a tiring sixth.
The turf sprint romp on May 23 at Gulfstream changed everything for Monster.
“The way he was training I was feeling he was good enough to win on dirt,” said D’Angelo. “When it didn’t work out I knew we had to try something different. I was sure he would do something good in the grass race at Gulfstream because he trained so well in the morning.”
Gulfstream Park-based jockey Edgard Zayas, who rode Monster in his grass win, will fly in for the mount.
The one unknown variable heading into Saturday is the 10-week layoff Monster has been on, though D’Angelo sees that as a much-needed respite for a young, developing horse who made three starts in 46 days at three different tracks in the early spring.
“It was good to give him a little break,” said D’Angelo. “After he won on the grass there wasn’t anywhere to go. There just are not a lot of 2-year-old races on the grass sprinting at the time of the year.
“So I think the layoff was good for him because he has already had three races at three different tracks. He’s still growing. I think he is better right now than he has ever been. He’s ready. We’ve been waiting for him to run again on the grass.”
Monster, owned by Arindel, will break from post 1, which D’Angelo also sees as an advantage.
“I like the post position,” he said. “I think he is the speed of the race if you look at the fractions from when he won at Gulfstream.”
