Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association of New Jersey
Trainer Eddie Owens, Jr., is never bashful about trying a good Jersey-bred in open company but it isn’t often that they have trips as eventful as the one Sea Devil did to win Saturday’s $100,000 Sapling Stakes at Monmouth Park.
The Holly Crest homebred broke on the lead, took the field of seven other 2-year-olds to the half that way, and then was passed by three horses. But jockey Jorge A. Vargas, Jr., held his ground along the rail and when an opening appeared coming out of the final turn Sea Devil re-rallied, having just enough to hold off the Kelly Breen-trained Raku by a nose.
The winning time for the mile was 1:38.26.
“He wasn’t supposed to be on the lead,” said Owens. “He broke so sharp that the jockey just let him run into the bit. By that time the other horses caught up. I got worried because I really didn’t think he had room coming out of the turn when he was turning for home. He had something in the tank. I wasn’t worried about that. I was worried about being on the lead early.
“But he had a nice breather in the backstretch even after those three horses passed him. He was fine then.”
Sent off at 7-1, Sea Devil broke his maiden in impressive fashion two starts back before a tiring fifth-place finish in the Dover Stakes at Delaware Park on Aug. 8 in his first stakes try.
Owens chalked up that disappointing effort to “a combination of things.”
“I don’t think he shipped good in his last start,” Owens said. “He didn’t like shipping at all. Then as soon as we walked on the track there was a driving rain and in the stretch he had mud hitting him in the face.”
Vargas, who earned his first career Grade 1 win aboard Baby Vino in the NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes last month, said he just needed to be patient throughout with the son of Sea Wizard.
Sea Devil took the field to the quarter in :23.75 and he was still clinging to the lead through a half in :47.42 before being passed on the outside by Rasasi, Hes Steeling Mylady and Raku.
As that group swung out of the final turn, Raku was four-wide and Sea Devil was on the rail.
Hes Steelin Mylady finished third, two lengths behind Raku.
“The plan was to be stalking. But he broke too sharp. I just let him kind of roll out of there without him doing it too quickly,” said Varga. “I was able to get a rail trip because he broke so well. He was content on the lead but in the backstretch I felt I had to give him a breather. They kept coming at him and I thought `this is the time to give him a breather.’
“After that I was just hoping for the hole to open (coming out of the final turn). He’s a nice horse. He’s a little bit of a tricky horse. He likes being in company. Obviously. I got lucky when the hole opened up for me. The key to me was getting him that breather on the backstretch.
“I knew even when he got through the hole coming out of the turn that he was not going to open up because that’s not him. He kind of waits for horses. He likes that. But once he got hooked up by (Raku) on the outside he wanted to fight.”
Even-money favorite Gorillaz, trained by Danny Gargan, never made an impact in the race after a tardy break. But Sea Devil, a son of Sea Wizard, did – even with five Kentucky-breds among his seven competitors.
“The only people who dismiss him as a Jersey-bred are the people looking at the Racing Form,” said Owens. “The horses don’t know where they’re from.”
Now with two wins and a second from four career starts, Sea Devil will probably get time off and then come back at 3.
“I’ve learned my lesson. I’m not chasing any dreams,” said Owens. “He might be done for the year unless he tells me let’s go do something. But if I have to put him on a van I’d rather not ship him anywhere because he did not ship well. If I do put him on the van it would be two days before he runs next time.”