(from Monmouth Park report)
Jockey Joe Bravo reached a milestone but 3-year-old speedster Idiot Proof provided the fireworks at Monmouth Park on Wednesday, thrilling an Independence Day crowd of 15,791 by smashing a track record in the $150,000 Jersey Shore Breeders’ Cup Stakes (gr. III) (VIDEO).
Bravo recorded career win No. 4,000 in the eighth race, and in the next event, Idiot Proof cracked Monmouth’s 15-year-old six-furlong track record as he rolled to a 7 1/4-length victory.
Idiot Proof, a California shipper trained by Clifford Sise Jr. and ridden by Rajiv Maragh, blistered the fast main track in the Jersey Shore, stopping the timer in 1:07.47 to shatter the track record of 1:07.84 set by Gilded Time in 1992.
Sent off third choice in the field of seven 3-year-old sprinters, Idiot Proof grabbed the lead on the turn and finished much the best in spite of racing erratically in the final furlong. Spin Master, who had nearly two lengths on the narrow 3-2 favorite Principle Secret, finished second.
Idiot Proof paid $10.60, $4.60, and $2.80 across the board and topped a $33.40 exacta.
Spin Master, who started nearly co-favored with Principle Secret, paid $3.20 and $2.80, and Principle Secret paid $2.60 to show.
Idiot Proof dueled with Southwestern Heat early, setting sizzling fractions of :21 1/5 for the quarter and :43 1/5 for the half. After five furlongs in :55, Idiot Proof asserted himself through the lane, putting on a tremendous burst of speed to draw off to the track record.
The 3-year-old son of Benchmark, bred by owners Pam and Martin Wygod, has now won four of six lifetime starts. The $90,000 winner’s prize brought his career earnings to $237,272.
“We blew him out over the track a few days ago, and he was awfully fast,” Sise said. “After that, we knew he liked the track, and he really showed that today.
“We might have to bring him back for the Breeders’ Cup (at Monmouth on Oct. 27). He’s just a really cool horse.”
“He was going so fast so early and doing it so easily, I knew he’d be real tough,” Maragh said. “Every time I asked him for a little more, he gave me a lot. He started looking around a little in the stretch, so I just kept on him all the way to the wire. I knew he was really moving. When we hit the wire, I thought he had to have broken the track record.”
Southwestern Heat finished fourth, followed by Sir Five Star and Cherokee Country, who finished in a dead heat for fifth, and West Coast Flier.
(Chart, Equibase)