Sports

Preakness and Belmont Winners to Battle at Haskell

Shackleford and locally-stabled Ruler On Ice among eight elite three-year-olds set to face off in Monmouth Park's main event July 31

Preakness Stakes winner Shackleford is headed for the $1 Million Resorts Casino Haskell Invitational next Sunday at , where local trainer Kelly Breen's wily Ruler On Ice will be waiting for him.

When the two horses last met at the Belmont Stakes on a wet Saturday in early June, Ruler On Ice charged through the mud past a tired Shackleford in the final turn of the one and a half mile course.

Neither horse has raced since the Belmont. Dale Romans has been training Shackleford at Churchill Downs in Kentucky, most recently running 59.60 in a five furlong (5/8 mile) workout on Sunday. Ruler On Ice also ran Sunday, clocking in at 1:02.60 over five furlongs at Monmouth.

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Fire and Ice

Ruler On Ice is not the only horse that Breen, of Farmingdale, and owners George and Lori Hall, ofRumson, will race in the Haskell. They'll also send out Pants On Fire, a three-year-old colt that won the Grade 3 Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth on June 18, and finished 9th in the Kentucky Derby.

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The duo of horses worked out together on Sunday morning, and will mark the second and third Haskell entries for Breen, who finished second in 2006 with Praying for Cash.

Jose Valdivia, Jr. will again take the reins for Ruler On Ice, and Breen has secured Elvis Trujillo, who leads all Monmouth jockeys with 51 wins, to ride Pants On Fire.

In celebration of the locally-based duo, dubbed "Fire" and "Ice," the Halls are throwing a Fire and Ice party at Monmouth Park on Haskell Day, inviting 200 of their closest family and friends. A special tent will be set up by the walking ring to accommodate the festival.

“This is a party that’s all about Monmouth Park and getting people excited,” said Henry Sullivan, of Rumson, who is married to George Hall's sister and runs publicity for the Halls and Breen.  “We want to showcase the facility.  It truly is the Jewel of the Jersey Shore and we’re going to bring in as many people as possible to enjoy this great racetrack and a great race.”

Five Horses You Need to Know

Rounding out the field of eight elite three-year-olds currently slated for the 44th running of the Haskell Invitational are JJ's Lucky TrainAstrologyConcealed Identity, Rattlesnake Bridge and either Coil or Prayer for Relief.

JJ's Lucky Train is a colt stationed out of Parx in Bensalem, Pa. who placed in the Grade 2 Woody Stephens Stakes on Belmont day and won the Grade 3 Bay Shore Stakes at Aqueduct on April 9. Since winning a maiden claiming (race for horses that have not won a race which allows licensed owners to claim them at a predetermined price) at Monmouth on July 31, 2010, trainer Bill Anderson's horse has raced nine times and finished among the top three in every race except one (last year's Grade 3 Sapling Stakes at Monmouth).

Astrology is a colt owned by George Bolton and Stonestreet Stables, the Kentucky barn that produced two recent horses of the year in Rachel Alexandra and Curlin. Trained by Steve Asmussen (who also trained Rachel Alexandra and Curlin) Astrology finished sixth in the Iowa Derby on June 25 his last time out, but has won, placed, or shown in eight of nine starts since breaking his maiden in Saratoga last year.

Concealed Identity is the gelded son of Smarty Jones owned by Linda Gaudet and newly-minted Monmouth Park leaseholder Morris Bailey. Trained by Eddie Gaudet, Concealed Identity's last race saw him place behind Pants On Fire in the Pegasus Stakes on June 18. He also raced in the Preakness Stakes, finishing 10th, but won races in April and May. According to a report by NJ.com, he only has one functioning eye, as he caught a splinter in his right eye last year which never healed.

Rattlesnake Bridge is a colt out of Mill House Farm who won the Long Branch Stakes at Monmouth his last time out on July 9. Trained by Kiaran McLaughlin, he has finished first or second in four of the five races he's run this year.

Trainer Bob Baffert, who won his fourth Haskell last year with Lookin at Lucky, is expected to race either Coil or Prayer for Relief.

Coil is a colt owned by Glen Hill Farm. Coil placed in the Grade 2 Swaps Stakes on July 9, but won his prior three races. He is the son of 2001 Haskell winner Point Given.

Prayer for Relief is a colt owned by Zayat Stables that beat Astrology and the rest of the field at the Iowa Derby in his last time out. He finished first in his only other race this year at Hollywood Park on May 29.

Kingdom Not Coming

Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom is out for the season after suffering a slab fracture in his left hock (joint above the shin bone in back leg) in the Belmont Stakes.

 


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