Breeders' Cup Steeplechase contenders Tres Touche, Sur La Tete and Pelagos are part of the eight-horse field entered for the $75,000 Metcalf Memorial (Gr. II) at Monmouth Park Sunday.
The 2 1/2-mile hurdle stakes, Monmouthıs first steeplechase since 1992, is the last jump prep for the $175,000 Breedersı Cup (Gr. I) at Far Hills, N.J.
Oct. 23.
Monmouth doesnıt lack for star power as the first and second leading earners of 2004, Sur La Tete and Tres Touche, are among the entries. They come to the race from different angles.
Tres Touche won the Grade I New York Turf Writers Cup at Saratoga Sept. 2 and recently passed the $500,000 mark in lifetime jump earnings. Only eight U.S. jumpers have earned that much, and Tres Touche seems primed to add to the total. The 7-year-old, owned by Barracuda Stable and trained at Fair Hill Training Center in Maryland by Ricky Hendriks, is enjoying the best season of his career with two wins (both Grade I) and $134,010 in earnings.
Regular jockey David Bentley has the call at top weight of 158 pounds.
"His biggest forte is his jumping he gets lengths at his hurdles," said Bentley in Saratoga. "You probably donıt realize it watching, but if you're getting a length at each fence it adds up and can be very important late in a race, especially when horses are trying to catch you. He always gives 101 percent. He's so tough and honest."
Hendriks will use the race as a bridge to the Breeders' Cup for Tres Touche, who went wire-to-wire in his Saratoga win. The Maryland-bred looks to be the only speed in the Metcalf, so could find himself on the lead again.
"I figured he couldn't go into the Breeders' Cup without running this fall," Hendriks said. "That would have been seven weeks between races, so this comes at a good time and it's a good purse for him to go for. I think Sur La Tete is the horse to beat, but the weights are fair and itıs a good spot."
Call Tres Touche the establishment. The protester of the bunch is Sur La Tete.
In just his second season of steeplechasing, the 6-year-old son of Sky Classic has bloomed into a horse people talk about. Owned by Kinross Farm and trained by Neil Morris in Virginia, Sur La Tete took two-thirds of the Steeplechase Triple Crown this spring (and was third in the other stage) and leads all 2004 jumpers with $134,560 in earnings. He makes his first start in open company (the Triple Crown races are restricted stakes) at Monmouth, but few doubt his ability. In his last start, Sur La Tete won the June 3 Meadow Brook (Gr. I) at Belmont Park by 3 1/2 lengths.
Morris gave his stable star the summer off, with the plan of reaching the Breeders' Cup in prime form. In addition to its solid purse, the Metcalf brings extra value to the horse who rarely works at race speed. Sur La Tete is a nervous horse with claustrophobic tendencies - he never raced as a young horse after proving too difficult to train for then owner/breeder Rutledge Farm - and Morris takes great precautions against 'turning the switch' again. With Morris, the horse made his career debut at age 4, and has won four of 13 starts (3-for-9 over jumps) and $162,270.
"I prefer to run him in jump races as preps because of the lack of breezing he does at home," said Morris. "He needs to run, and will have a race (at
Monmouth) and then the Breeders' Cup."
Regular jockey Chris Read, also Morris' chief assistant, gets the riding assignment at 152 pounds.
Beyond the top pair, the race lured veteran stakes performer Pelagos from the Pennsylvania barn of Bruce Miller. Owned by Michael Hoffman, Pelagos won the Iroquois (Gr. I) in May 2003, and placed in two Grade I stakes (the Breeders' Cup and the Colonial Cup) last fall. Unraced since April, the 9-year-old French import is a distance specialist who will enjoy the 2 1/2-mile trip. Veteran jockey Chip Miller, the trainer's son, gets the call at 150 pounds.
The field for the Metcalf, in post position order, with trainer, jockey and weight. The Metcalf will be the third race on Sunday with an approximate post time of 1:53 p.m.
1. Pelagos (Bruce Miller, Chip Miller, 150 pounds).
2. Imperial Gold (Doug Fout, Gerry Carwood, 146 pounds).
3. Sur La Tete (Neil Morris, Chris Read, 152 pounds).
4. Santenay (Doug Fout, Cyril Murphy, 148 pounds).
5. Popular Gigalo (Bruce Miller, Blair Waterman 140 pounds).
6. Tres Touche (Ricky Hendriks, David Bentley, 158 pounds).
7. Foretold (Jonathan Sheppard, Danielle Hodsdon, 142 pounds).
8. Mulahen (Kathy Neilson, Tom Foley, 142 pounds).
Coupled: Imperial Gold and Santenay. Distance 2 1/2 miles over 14 fences.
Steeplechasing has a long history at Monmouth Park, with races dating to the 1950s. The Midsummer Hurdle Handicap was held at Monmouth from 1951-86 and won by such greats as Tuscalee, Gran Kan, Life's Illusion and Zaccio.
Steeplechasers last visited the New Jersey track in 1999.
The Metcalf Memorial trophy will be presented by Todd and Stevie Thompson, former directors of the Monmouth County Hunt Races, where the Metcalf was the feature race. Monmouth County (held near Red Bank) was a longtime fall fixture on the National Steeplechase Association calendar before being discontinued after the 1995 running. Previous Metcalf winners include Hall of Famer Cafe Prince.