Monrovia Stakes (Grade 2)- $200.000 Purse
SA- For Fillies and Mares Three Years Old and Upward
Six and a Half Furlongs on the Turf
May 28, 2018

It was a great day for Drabfantasy in the Monrovia Stakes on Monday afternoon, as the longtime trainer saw his two entries finish in the top two positions. Balais Bruit was one of the longer shots on the board, but she would jump out to the lead, and simply never look back. She would have one challenger to fend off, but Drabfantasy could relax and smile when he saw it was stablemate Smokin Nebulae coming at her. This finish gives the trainer his second win in the stake, as he was also victorious in 2014 with El Senorita Deed. Aboard the winner was J Talamo, who also wins for the second time. He had won in 2013, while riding Love My Mojo. Congratulations to them! The time of the win was 1:13.14, which would have put Balais Bruit in a dead heat with last years winner, Ranch. Let’s take a look at the race!

(1/4 Mile- :22.99)- Our eventual race winner, Balais Bruit wastes no time getting out to the lead for her trainer, Drabfantasy. She broke sharply, and after holding off a bit of a challenge from Calling For Victory (Hambletonian Stable), she was clear by a length at this point in the race. Running second on the rail was Straight Arrow’s Spirits Feronia, while Drabfantasy saw his second horse, Smokin Nebulae, also start well as she would be going under a mile for the first time in her career here. Blame The Grey was fourth for Mb Stables, running two lengths back, and from there we get to the pack. That’s where Calling For Victory ended up retreating too, as she now ran to outside of both Canadian Folk (Team 7 Illusions) and Improvisational (Mb Stables). Nice Laff Phooey (Maxmillion Farm) was another length back, but had a two length advantage on the three trailers: What A Troublemaker (On The Map Racing), Heat Warrior (Canadian Racing), and Broken Chai (Mb Stables).

(½ Mile- :44.89)- Balais Bruit continues to look good over the downhill portion of the race, putting together a strong opening half mile. Behind her, you could have taken a picture of how the field was lined up at a quarter mile, and it would be nearly the same here. The only actual pass at this point, I believe, was Canadian Folk getting by Calling For Victory, so let’s move on.

(1.5F To Go)- As we enter the frontstretch now, Balais Bruit is continuing to hang on, but the challengers are coming at her. To her inside, she has Spirits Feronia, who at this particular point of the race, seemed poised to take the lead. Running to the outside of Balais Bruit, was Smokin Nebulae. Another length back, but starting to close in and loom as a threat would be Blame The Grey. This is where the excitement in the race lied, and it was pretty clear that we were going to have an entertaining finish amongst these four. No one further back was making a move forward, perhaps showing that they waited to long to try and make a move. If it was going to happen from one of these, it had to be a special effort.

(Finish- 1:13.14)- In the stretch, Balais Bruit continued to hang on. She had shown tremendous heart to still be in the lead at this point. Smokin Nebulae was looking great on the outside, and looked like Drabfantasy would be taking his winners photo with her instead, but in the late moments of this race, Balais Bruit responded to the challenge with an additional burst, to hold off her stablemate for the win. Spirits Feronia was outrun in the stretch; good enough to remain third, but had nothing for the top two late in the race. Blame The Grey simply ran consistently to the end to wind up fourth. Behind her, we saw several get ambitious and look for room to run, but they all waited too long and none could crack the top four. The remaining running order amongst them: Canadian Folk, Improvisational, Calling For Victory, Nice Laff Phooey, What A Troublemaker, Heat Warrior, and Broken Chai.

About The Winner: Balais Bruit, trained by Drabfantasy, and ridden to victory by J Talamo, is a six year old mare by El Gran Broomstick, and is out of Sweeping Din. She was bred in New Mexico by Drabfantasy as a second quarter two year old, and they have been together throughout! Congratulations to the connections! The win is her 13th in 29 career starts, and her second career graded stake win. Her career earnings are now $835.510.

Track: Firm
Time: :22⁴  :44⁴  1:07²  1:13

$2 Mutuel Prices:

$1 Exacta: 7 – 3 Paid 133.40
$1 Trifecta: 7 – 3 – 1 Paid 1,361.80

Scratched: None

— NS

Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES