August 28 racing highlights: Baccelo takes the Iselin
Baccelo wins the Iselin. Photo By Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO
From Staff Reports
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: Baccelo wins the G3 Iselin
David Jacobson’s Baccelo stalked the early pace of Mr. Jordan before moving by the pacesetter at the top of the stretch and posting a length and a half win in the Grade 3, $100,000 Philip H. Iselin Stakes at Monmouth Park.
Trained by the owner, Baccelo survived a steward’s inquiry and jockey’s claim of foul for lugging in in the lane, before officially grabbing in the Iselin trophy. The winner paid $8.80, $4.20 and $2.60 in the field of six colts and geldings. Mr. Jordan completed the $41.40 exacta and paid $4.40 and $2.40. Odds-on favorite Watershed, who raced near the back of the pack early, rallied for third, paying $2.10 after checking in three lengths farther back.
“I saw Mr. Jordan break on the lead and I just kept my horse close,” said winning rider Nik Juarez, who captured last year’s Iselin atop Valid. “I didn’t want to leave him too much to do in the stretch and he was able to prove that he was the best horse. It’s been a great day, a great meet. This place is home to me and I appreciate all the horsemen who give me a chance.”
A 6-year-old Brazilian-bred gelding by Northern Afleet from the Wild Event mare Quanto Carina, Baccelo has won three straight dating back to June 10 at Santa Anita. Saturday’s win pushed his lifetime mark to 6-7-3 from 26 starts, good for earnings of $316,882.
[su_divider top=”no” style=”double” size=”9″]BY THE NUMBERS: HANDLE
- Charles Town: $783,464
- Delaware Park: $1,082,340
- Monmouth Park: $5,362,830
- Penn National: $501,732
TODAY’S RACING ACTION
- Tracks in action: Timonium, Monmouth
Monmouth Park hosts a day of New Jersey-bred racing headlined by three stakes for state-breds. In the six furlong, New Jersey Breeders Handicap (race 4), Jorge Navarro trainee Chublicious (3-2) is favored to take his third stake of the year over the strip. But he’ll have to contend with graded winner Green Gratto (5-2), who finished second to Chublicious in one of those stakes wins but most recently won the Hockessin at Delaware Park. In the Eleven North Handicap (race 9), a six furlong test for fillies and mares, stakes winners She’s Hot Wired (8-5) and Bustin Out (9-5) will duke it out for top laurels. And in race 10, the Charles Hesse, III Handicap, a full field of 10 will go postward with Fuzzy Muzzle (3-1), winner of the Dan Horn over the strip, installed as the tepid favorite…
Timonium’s eighth race is something rarely seen in Maryland: an allowance/optional claiming event for horses that have never won one race other than, or $15,000 claimers (Maryland typically has only run optional claimers at two-other-than or above). The race has attracted a pair of horses running for the tag, including second choice Rapid Rouge (2-1), winner of two straight. But the favorite is in for the condition, and that’s Jamie Ness trainee Peteizum (9-5), a winner of five of 38 career races. J. D. Acosta will ride.
