Jersey-Breds Have Their Day at Monmouth Park

State-bred runners will have their day Sept. 6 when Monmouth Park hosts the New Jersey Thoroughbred Festival, which includes four $60,000 stakes.

The 10-race card for the festival, presented by the Malouf Auto Group, is made up of all New Jersey-bred races. In all, 93 horses were entered for the card that begins at 12:50 p.m. EST.

The stakes are the Charles Hesse III Handicap for 3-year-olds and up and the Jersey Girl Handicap for fillies and mares, both at 1 1/16 miles; and the New Jersey Breeders Handicap for 3-year-olds and up and the Eleven North Handicap for fillies and mares, both at six furlongs. There also are two maiden special weight events for 2-year-olds.

Under handicap conditions the highest weight to be carried in the four stakes is 128 pounds, which will be toted by Geeky Gorgeous in the Eleven North. A four-time stakes winner and earner of $427,554, Geeky Gorgeous won the $100,000 Regret Stakes at Monmouth before finishing seventh in the grade I Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.

The 5-year-old Devil His Due mare, owned and trained by Danny Lopez and bred by Joe-Dan Farm, will face five foes in the Eleven North, named for a New Jersey-bred mare that won 16 races, six of them stakes, and never raced outside of New Jersey in her 40 career starts.

High-weighted in the New Jersey Breeders Handicap is Rainbow Heir, a 4-year-old Wildcat Heir colt that is undefeated in four starts at Monmouth. Owned and bred by New Farm and trained by Ben Perkins Jr., Rainbow Heir was assigned 126 pounds in a seven-horse field.

The stakes also attracted Peri Whan, a 4-year-old Defrere gelding trained by J. Willard Thompson and owned and bred by his Winter Quarter Farm. Track officials noted Thompson's history with Monmouth dates back to the Harry S. Truman administration.

"I first came to Monmouth in 1952, riding steeplechase horses," Thompson said. "I've always supported the New Jersey-bred program and always will. This is home."

Thompson said Peri Whan will "need his running shoes" to win the Breeders Handicap.

"Rainbow Heir will definitely be tough," the trainer said. "My horse got away slowly in his last and just didn't fire (Aug. 23 at Monmouth). He's a solid horse who's usually right up on the pace, so hopefully a better break puts him in the hunt."