From Monmouth Park Publicity
OCEANPORT, N.J. (Aug. 25, 2024) – Odds-on favorite Riding Pretty, a New-Jersey-bred daughter of California stallion Jack Milton, won Sunday’s $102,000 Eleven North Handicap for fillies at mares at Monmouth Park.
She has five wins in 20 starts and earnings of $369,365.
Riding Pretty, out of the Girolamo mare High Renaissance, ran the six furlongs in 1:10.34 and won by one length at odds of 1-2.
“She hadn’t sprinted since she was 2 years old. So that was impressive,” said trainer Eddie Owens, Jr.
Riding Pretty, usually a solid closer, dueled with Bel Pensiero for most of the stretch, finally pulling away. It marked the 4-year-old filly’s first time sprinting in her past 17 starts.
“I blew her out in :34 on Thursday to make sure I had enough speed in her,” said
Owens. “I was just hoping she didn’t fall too far behind early. But being a race where there wasn’t a lot of speed I knew they were not going in 21 (seconds) for the first quarter so I expected her to be a little closer than normal.
“There was really only one speed horse. When we didn’t shake her (Bel Pensiero) at the top of the stretch I was a little worried because that other filly is a good one. Jairo timed it just right. I knew we were going to have run by Bel Pensiero and it was better that we fought her from the top of the stretch than the sixteenth pole to the wire. I don’t know if we would have won if he waited.”