The 10th Running of The MTH Cup-G3
July 17, 2021 14:55
MTH Race #9 $300.000
3YO 119 Lbs Older 124 Lbs 11/8 Dirt
Track Record-1:47.23 (Spiritual Warrior-2009)
Stakes Record-1:47.67(Mad King-2021)
Count Mb Stables and his 4yo gelding Mad King among the fans who get excited for the G3 MTH Cup. For the 2nd consecutive year the son of Commanding took home the lion’s share of the $300.000 purse for the nine-furlong dirt event; his win marked the 4th in five-years for horses in his trainer’s silks. It may not have looked promising early, but in the end Mad King bested his foes and improved on his own stakes record time by completing the 11/8 in 1:47.67.
The Nakamura Stables duo of Delaware Warrior and Boardwalk set the pace early as the field was well strung-out passing the wire for the first time. The pair raced side-by-side through an opening 1/4 in :23.72 as Winchester was two lengths behind in third while saving ground around the first turn. Nothing changed through a 1/2 in :47.29 but by the time they reached 3/4 in 1:11.01, Boardwalk had nosed his way in fron of his stablemate. Behind them, Winchester angled out to the three path to commence his run and a five-wide Contradiction started making his run as well. Mad King was sticking to the rail around the clubhouse turn, but he was still four-lengths back in 6th.
At the top of the lane, the top four remained the same and were separated by less than a length. Ricki Tikki Tavi, in between Winchester and Contradiction, was only another length back and Mad King had gotten within a length of him while still racing down on the inside. When they hit the mile in 1:35.40, they were lined-up six-across the track with Contradiction, on the outside, and Mad King, on the inside, going the best of all. At the wire, Mad King was clear of Contradiction by little more than a length. Ricki Tikki Tavi secured third from Winchester and Home Spirit with the latter making a seven-wide run to get into contention.
Commenting on his homebred’s victory, conditioner Mb Stables said, “He’s a really gutsy horse. That’s now 15 straight races in the money many of them against top level competition. Pretty interesting he’s won this race twice in a row and it’s his only stakes win.” With the win, Mad King‘s record now stands 17-6-3-6 with earnings of $649.500. The gelding also earned four BC points with his win while Contradiction and Ricki Tikki Tavi earned two and one, respectively. Congratulations to Mb Stables and Mad King for winning the 2021 $300.000 G3 Monmouth Cup….again!
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES
