Burning Roma held on for a head victory over a hard-charging Remind in the $100,000 Red Bank Handicap (gr. IIIT) as racing returned to Monmouth Park Saturday under blue skies, bright sunshine and a crowd of of 21,869.
Harold L. Queen's Burning Roma, who has earned $1.4-million, is the most accomplished member of the prospective field for Saturday's $100,000 Red Bank Handicap (gr. IIIT), highlight of Monmouth Park's opening day program.
Include will be back at Meadowlands Friday night for another shot at the Meadowlands Cup (gr. II), a race that eluded him last year, when he came up two necks short of the top prize as the odds-on favorite.
You could call Burning Roma's victory in the Tampa Bay Derby a TKO, since the horse considered his toughest challenger, the Bill Mott-trained Mongoose, was prevented from running on a technicality. On the other hand, odds-on Burning Roma took the $200,000 stakes with such style and ease that Mongoose's presence in the field might not have mattered.
