Virginia-bred horses will have a big presence in Saturday’s (May 27th) $100,000 Red Bank Stakes at Monmouth. Rose Brier (7-2), Special Envoy (6-1) and Just Call Kenny (6-1) will all compete in the stake’s 13 horse field.
The trio were bred respectively by William Backer, Mr. & Mrs. Bertram Firestone and Althea Richards. The event is race 9 on the card, is set at one mile on the turf, and will go to post at 4:52 PM.
Rose Brier is shown here winning the 2014 Bert Allen Stakes. Photo by Jim McCue.
Rose Brier is an 8 year old Mizzen Mast gelding that has won over $500,000 in his career. He was named Virginia-bred Champion Turf Horse in 2016 based on victories in the Bert Allen, Henry Clark and Edward Evans Stakes. Rose Brier was second in last year’s Red Bank Stakes. The Matthew Hartman trainee has 30 “in the money” finishes from 38 lifetime starts.
Special Envoy is a 6 year old Stroll gelding who has made just one start this year — a 4th in an allowance optional claiming race at Tampa Bay Downs. The Arnaud Delacour trainee was second in last year’s Edward Evans Stakes and has bankrolled $159,460 from 18 career starts. Special Envoy is out of the Cozzene mare, Diplomacy.
Just Call Kenny, bred by Althea Richards, won by 1 1/4 lengths over Double Whammy April 21st at Laurel. Photo courtesy of Jim McCue.
Just Call Kenny is a 6 year old Jump Start horse that hopes to continue a solid ’17 campaign. He already has a win and a pair of third place finishes this year, good for $40,830 in earnings. He is fresh off an allowance optional claiming triumph at Laurel on April 21st. Just Call Kenny is out of Green Jeans by Green Dancer.
Racing fans can watch and wager the Red Bank Stakes at either of the two Richmond OTBs — downtown at Ponies & Pints or in the west end at Breakers Sports Grille. On line betting is also available at TVG.com, XPressbet.com, TwinSpires.com and NYRABets.com. There is an assortment of stakes races to enjoy all Memorial Day weekend. Mark your calendars too — the Belmont Stakes is Saturday June 10th. Happy Holiday weekend!