EQUI-PHOTO
Off 11-Length Debut Win Faces First Test In Saturday’s $200,000 Stakes
Cooler Bag Giveaway Set For Sunday At Monmouth Park
$800 NHC/BCBC Handicapping Contest On Tap Saturday
Tom Luicci/Monmouth Park
OCEANPORT, N.J. – There’s plenty that trainer Jamie Ness already knows about Social Fortress as she prepares to make her second career start in Saturday’s $200,000 Sorority Stakes at Monmouth Park.
She’s talented, fast and precocious – traits reflected in her racing debut at Delaware Park on July 13 when she cruised to an 11-length win.
But there are almost as many questions still lingering about the 2-year-old daughter of Social Inclusion.
“She’s only had that one race and she really didn’t get much experience out of it because she just blew away the field without any pressure,” said Ness. “She’s going to a new track; she’s shipping for the first time, and she is trying a distance (one mile) she has never been. So, I just don’t know yet. But I can say that ever since day one she has trained forwardly. And she is extremely talented.”
Bred and owned by Joe Imbesi, a former trainer on the New Jersey circuit for more than 20 years from the 1970s through the 1990s, Social Fortress will take on eight rivals in the eight-furlong Sorority Stakes.
Her debut was an off-the-turf five-furlong dash that validated what she was showing in the mornings, Ness said.
“We saw her ability early,” he said. “We tried to go as slowly as we could with her and she still bullet worked. She’s one of those horses with all kinds of talent.
“We had a hard time getting a race for her, so we decided to try her five-eighths on the turf just to give her a start. It came off the turf and she blew them away. I don’t know what she beat but she was very impressive.”
Bred in Florida at Imbesi’s Briardale Farm just south of Ocala, Social Fortress “lights up the track in the mornings,” Ness said. It’s why he had such high expectations for her debut.
Social Fortress delivered on those expectations.
“Most trainers are conservative, but when they put her in the starting gate that day I said `we might see something special today,’” said Ness. “She performed the way she trains. She played the way she practices.
“She’s doing everything right and she is a talented filly, so I expect her to run really well. She lights up the track in the morning. Hopefully she brings that on Saturday.”
Among the eight other 2-year-old fillies entered are the Kelly Breen-trained Vino Limone, who won her debut at Monmouth Park on Aug. 3; the Dan Ward-trained Piggy Tales Up, a sharp winner in her career debut at Monmouth Park on July 27, and the Todd Pletcher-trained Yellow, who was second in her only start on July 4 at the Belmont at Aqueduct meet.
Ness has enlisted Jamie Rodriguez to ride Social Fortress.
Cooler Bag Giveaway Set For Sunday At Monmouth Park
$800 NHC/BCBC Handicapping Contest On Tap Saturday
A cooler bag giveaway will complement Sunday’s New Jersey’s Thoroughbred Festival presented by The Malouf Auto Group, with three stakes races highlighting the all-state-bred card – the Charles Hesse III Handicap, the New Jersey Breeders’ Handicap and the Eleven North Handicap.
The first 2,400 paid admissions will receive a coupon that can be redeemed for a cooler bag. Redemption sites will be at the Festival Drink Stand and the 1st Floor Clubhouse.
Sunday is also Family Fun Day, with free clowns, face painters, pony rides and a bounce house for kids.
On Saturday, there will be an $800 NHC/BCBC Handicapping contest, with cash prizes also awarded to the top 10 finishers, with contestants able to play online or on site at Monmouth Park.
TVG, 4NJBETS and Xpressbet are the available online options for contest players.
There is a non-refundable entry fee of $400 and a tournament bankroll of $400 for races at Monmouth Park and Saratoga, with contestants required to wager on a minimum of five (5) Monmouth Park races of at least $80 each.
Saratoga will have a first race post-time on Saturday, Travers Stakes Day, of 11.20 a.m. Monmouth Park’s first race post time is 12:50 p.m. that day.
The wagering format consists of Win, Place, Show, Exacta and Daily Double betting only.
For TVG and 4NJBETS customers, online pre-registration ends at 3 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 23. Xpress players can register through 12:50 p.m. on Saturday.
On-site registration is from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the first floor of Clubhouse
Based on 200 entries, the prize pool will consist of 3 NHC seats, 4 BCBC seats and $25,000 cash.
The top 7 finishers, in order, will select between an NHC and a BCBC seat. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top 10 finishers.
To pre-register, email bskirka@monmouthpark.com.
