Created a decade ago as an enticement for dual classic winner Big Brown, the $200,000 Monmouth (G2) had not yielded a repeat winner in its brief history until Saturday, when Money Multiplier wore down long-time leader and favorite Frostmourne in the stretch to take the 1 1/8-mile grass event by three parts of a length under Joe Bravo.
Claiming his first win since the 2017 Monmouth, and in his first race back following a trip to Qatar, where he ran third in a Group 1 stakes over 1 1/2 miles on February 24, Money Multiplier finished up in a swift 1:46.79 on firm ground. He paid $10 for Al Shanhania Stud and trainer Chad Brown.
Divisidero, a multiple winner of the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (G1) making his debut for new trainer Kelly Rubley, closed from the reare of the field to finish second, a half-length ahead of the rail-skimming Projected, in his first race since October. Frostmourne weakened to fourth and Doctor Mounty finished last of five.
Money Multiplier was the second graded stakes winner sired by Lookin at Lucky Saturday afternoon, following Accelerate’s win in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita (G1).
While the two editions of the Monmouth have been the six-year-old’s only stakes wins, Money Multiplier has also placed in two editions of the Sword Dancer (G1) as well as the Man o’ War (G1) and the United Nations (G1) for prior owners Klaravich Stables and William Lawrence.
Bred in Kentucky by Machmer Hall and Haymarket Farm, Money Multiplier now a boasts a line of 22-5-7-2, $1,203,584. A half-brother to Grade 2 winner Intense Holiday, Money Multiplier is out of Intensify, an Unbridled’s Song half-sister to multiple Grade 3 winner Crafty Shaw.
In the $102,000 Salvator Mile (G3), the venerable Page McKenney rallied for a half-length win over Shaft of Light in a time 1:36.49 over a fast track. Sunny Ridge, the 7-5 favorite, was third.
This was the 56th career start for the eight-year-old Page McKenney, a Pennsylvania-bred owned by Adam Staple and Jalin Stable. He’s trained by Mary Eppler and was ridden by Horacio Karamanos.
This was the 15th stakes win for Page McKenney, who paid $17.60 and has earned more than $1.87 million.
