Leading novice steeplechasers Be Certain and The Price Of Love face off for the third time this year. As jump racing returns to New Jersey’s Monmouth Park on Saturday. The $75,000 Monmouth County Hunt Stakes lured a field of eight, including the top two young steeplechasers in the country. The 2 1/4-mile, 10-fence race is the sixth of the day with an approximate post time of 3:10 p.m. ET.

Be Certain and The Price Of Love stand out in the race, restricted to first- and second-year steeplechasers, and are developing quite a rivalry.

On form, they carry nearly identical eight-start records over jumps. Each has won three times and finished second three times, with The Price Of Love carrying two thirds and Be Certain one (his lone off-the-board finish came when he was disqualified, from second, when the jockey failed to weigh in).

Against each other, they each own a win. A 4-year-old son of Thunder Gulch, Be Certain boasts youth and breeding on his side. A 5-year-old son of Prenup, The Price Of Love brings a slight maturity edge and was good enough to win once on the flat (Be Certain is a maiden in two starts without jumps).

Despite their youth, both horses appear to be on the fast track to steeplechase stardom.

“It’s amazing, he hadn’t even jumped a fence a year ago,” trainer Tom Voss said of Be Certain earlier this summer. “He’s more mature than most anything I’ve ever had.”

“When he won nicely this spring (a maiden in March) and then came back to run really well in a tough race (an allowance in May), I thought ‘let’s save some ammunition for Saratoga,’” trainer Jonathan Sheppard said of The Price Of Love this summer. “I thought he would like the flat track.”

In May, Be Certain rallied late to win the restricted National Hunt Cup at Radnor over Planets Aligned with The Price Of Love a distant third in soft turf. On July 31 at Saratoga, The Price Of Love got revenge with an inside trip and a determined stretch run to defeat Be Certain by a half-length. They diverged after that race, with The Price Of Love winning a restricted stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 21 and Be Certain placing second (again beaten a half-length) against open company in the Grade 1 New York Turf Writers Cup.

They step outside again in the Monmouth County, each looking to be the hero. Regular jockey Padge Whelan rides Be Certain at 150 pounds with Danielle Hodsdon aboard The Price of Love at 156.

Beyond the top pair, Saratoga winner Spy In The Sky rates a look. The 4-year-old son of Thunder Gulch broke his maiden by an emphatic 11 lengths in April and returned the next month to finish second in an open stakes. Beaten a head on the flat at Colonial Downs in June, Spy In The Sky placed fourth in open company at Saratoga and then got up in the final strides to win a Saratoga restricted stakes Aug. 27. Trained in Virginia by Jimmy Day, Spy In The Sky gets his toughest test to date. Liam McVicar rides at 147 pounds for owner Randleston Farm.

Swagger Stick made three Saratoga starts over jumps, turning in a record of two seconds and a third for Gil Johnston and trainer Jack Fisher. He lost by a head to Spy In The Sky in the Aug. 27 race — his third quality effort after several dismal jump tries. The 7-year-old son of Cozzene won six times on the flat and is a half-brother to former Horse of the Year Pleasantly Perfect.

Fisher also entered Seer, another well-bred 4-year-old. His Saratoga runs included a second July 30 and a third behind The Price Of Love on Aug. 21. Owned by Sheila Williams, the son of Pulpit gets 12 pounds from The Price Of Love on Saturday and attracts leading jockey Xavier Aizpuru.

Voss’ second-stringer, Fox Ridge Farm’s Fogcutter, could improve off his most recent start in soft turf at Saratoga, where he fell after tiring late in the race. Owned by Fox Ridge Far, the 5-year-old son of Woodman gets jockey Matt McCarron.

Sheppard brings two companions for The Price Of Love. Calvin Houghland’s Dr. Bloomer (Robbie Walsh) looks to find his spring form that saw him win an open Grade 3 stakes over Spy In The Sky. Timber Bay Farm’s Prep School (jockey to be announced) makes his third start off a year layoff, but was beaten double digits in both Saratoga tries.

Monmouth last hosted jump racing in 2004, but has a long history with the sport with longtime fixture the Midsummer Hurdle Handicap, counting Zaccio, Life’s Illusion, Gran Kan, Tuscalee and King Commander among its past winners … Saturday’s race is named for the Monmouth County Hunt, whose races in nearby Red Bank, N.J., were a fixture on the circuit for nearly 65 years … Amory Haskell, namesake of the Grade I Haskell Invitational, was a member of the hunt.

Posted on September 20th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Horse Racing news