Kentucky shipper Custom for Carlos found the East Coast to his liking as the 3-year-old colt ran off with the $200,000 Jersey Shore Stakes (gr. III) (VIDEO) at Monmouth Park July 5.
The son of More Than Ready , who had defeated older allowance horses previous to the six-furlong Jersey Shore, was ridden by local jockey Eddie Castro for the first time as he led throughout in fractional times of :22 1/5 and :44 2/5 for the first half-mile. When crossing the finishing line in final time of 1:08, Custom for Carlos held a 6 1/4-length advantage over odds-on favorite Snapshot. The six-furlong track record is 1:07 2/5.
Trained by Eddie Kenneally for owners Homewrecker Racing and Avalon Farm, paid $5.40 and $2.60. Snapshot paid $2.40. There was no show wagering for the four-horse field. Happy Bull finished third, followed by Wildcat Brief.
“He’s really sharp in the morning,” Kenneally said. “I could tell turning for home, looking at the jockey, that he had plenty left. He’s been running against some very good competition. He does have a nice pedigree for both turf and dirt, but we’re happy with what he’s doing now, so we’ll keep him on dirt. There’s a couple of races at Saratoga for him, so that’s where we’ll go next. The Breeders’ Cup would be a nice goal; 3-year-olds have won it before.”
“Well, we knew the horse to my outside (Snapshot) had early speed, but my horse broke well and landed right on the lead,” Castro said. “There was not a specific game plan designed, we were just going to go with the flow and react to what happens. This horse was going fast and doing it well. Turning for home he really kicked it in and drew off. This is a very nice colt.”
The Jersey Shore win was the third win is six starts for Custom For Carlos, who has now earned $196,090. He was bred in Kentucky by David E. Hager II.