Pin Oak Stable’s homebred Synchrony, one of the stories of the winter thanks to his graded stakes double Fair Grounds, recaptured his rhythm in Sunday’s $102,000 Oceanport (G3) on Haskell Day at Monmouth. Subsequently third on yielding ground in the Old Forester Turf Classic (G1) on Kentucky Derby Day and third again when upped in trip for the Arlington H. (G3), the Mike Stidham trainee appreciated the cutback and the firm course here.
The 3-5 favorite as the class of the field, Synchrony bided his time in a penultimate sixth as Mo Maverick carved out splits of :25.56, :49.93, and 1:12.89. Jockey Joe Bravo adhered to the rail on the run into stretch, a brave path that worked out for him. A sliver of room opened up, Synchrony was game to squeeze through, and the race was over. The son of Tapit and versatile near-millionaire Brownie Points accelerated to a 2 1/4-length decision, in hand, while finishing 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.05.
The 18-1 Doctor Mounty, who tracked in second early, maintained his runner-up spot at the wire. Irish Strait closed for third, relegating Mo Maverick to fourth. New York-bred veteran Kharafa, last through the opening six furlongs, passed Dover Cliffs and Force the Pass to check in fifth.
Synchrony has bankrolled $556,552 from a 15-6-3-4 record. Once on the Triple Crown trail, the chestnut was third in the 2016 Smarty Jones S. at Oaklawn as well as the Lexington (G3) but missed the rest of his sophomore season. Synchrony found his home on turf in early 2017 with seconds in the Henry Clark at Laurel (to next-out Manhattan H. [G1] upsetter Ascend) and the Red Bank (G3) over this course (to Irish Strait). Sidelined again, he returned triumphant in the February 17 Fair Grounds H. (G3) and added the Mervin H. Muniz Jr. Memorial (G2) on Louisiana Derby Day.
Later, the ubiquitous Chad Brown sent out the exacta in the $100,000 Matchmaker (G3), albeit not in the order of wagering preference. The 4-1 Elysea’s World rolled late to catch her 3-5 stablemate Dream Awhile, handing Brown his third win so far on the card.
Winning rider Jose Ortiz was turning a stakes double after guiding Alan Goldberg’s Name Changer to victory in the Monmouth Cup (G3) on the main track, and he later made it a triple aboard Joe Orseno’s Imprimis in the Wolf Hill. Brown and Ortiz were thus already clicking in advance of the Haskell, where they’ll team up with champion and 6-5 morning-line favorite Good Magic.
Elysea’s World was exiting a third to Dream Awhile in the June 30 Eatontown (G3), also at Monmouth, but over 1 1/16 miles. The extra sixteenth of the Matchmaker suited Elysea’s World much better. In fact, the Champs Elysees mare mowed Dream Awhile down in the 1 1/8-mile Suwannee River (G3) at Gulfstream back in February, and a similar finish ensued.
Dream Awhile raced in fourth, clear of Elysea’s World one spot behind, and tried to capitalize on that position. But when Dream Awhile started gaining on pacesetter Viva Vegas turning for home, Elysea’s World followed her move. The favorite’s sharp turn of foot propelled her clear in the stretch, until the final furlong brought Elysea’s World stamina into play. Needing every yard of the 1 1/8 miles, she got up to thwart her stablemate by a neck in a final time of 1:47.70. She was also thwarting Dream Awhile’s rider, Bravo, who was so close to a stakes triple alongside Synchrony and Berned in the Molly Pitcher (G3).
The Brown duo had the race to themselves, pulling five lengths ahead of third-placer Special Event. Viva Vegas faded to fourth, followed by Lift Up, Party Boat, and Broken Bridle. Con Te Partiro was scratched.
The Matchmaker prize structure for the top three finishers includes seasons to three stallions standing at sponsor WinStar Farm (Exaggerator, Commissioner, and Tourist).
Campaigned by Sheep Pond Partners and All Pro Racing, Elysea’s World sports a mark of 20-5-5-3, $502,324. A winner in her sole outing at two in France, she joined Brown stateside in preparation for her three-year-old season when her best stakes result was a second in the 2016 Lake George (G2). Elysea’s World placed in six stakes in 2017 – the Canadian (G2), Hillsborough (G2), Suwanee River, Gallorette (G3), Athenia (G3), and Robert J. Frankel (G3) – and finally notched her first stakes laurel in the February 10 renewal of the Suwannee River.
