The riding colony will have a different look when racing resumes Thursday, with perennial leader Irad Ortiz Jr., Tyler Gaffalione, and David Egan named to ride here for the first time since the meet began last Thursday.
The nine-race program will be highlighted by a $57,000 allowance for 2-year-old fillies scheduled to be run at five furlongs on turf, which hopefully will be open for business for the first time after being shut down due to rainy weather on each of the first four days of the session.
Bibi Dahl, a $1.3 million yearling purchase who finally won in her fourth career start when registering a 5 1/4-length victory at odds of 1-9 over the turf on Aug. 31 at Monmouth Park, will likely be favored in the main event. She’ll face seven rivals, including her stakes-placed stablemate Nacho Problem, the undefeated Zealot, and the Wesley Ward-trained speedster Pulstar.
Bibi Dahl made an auspicious debut when finishing second behind Lennilu in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies here in May before shipping to Royal Ascot to finish eighth in the Group 3 Albany Stakes six weeks later. Bibi Dahl, owned by AMO Racing USA, is by American Pharoah and is the baby sister of three-time Grade 2 winner Forbidden Kingdom.