Philip H. Iselin

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

GOTTCHA GOLD (Coronado's Quest) never fired when finishing fourth in the Skip

Away S. last out, and we're surprised to see him wheel back off a 21-day layoff

in Saturday's $300,000 Philip H. Iselin S. (G3). The defending champion will

have company on the front end with SHOPTON LANE (Quiet American) and ACTIN GOOD

(Yes It's True) in the line-up, and we'll try to beat the potential favorite with HONEST

MAN (Unbridled's Song).

Conditioned by Larry Jones, Honest Man brings improving form into this 1

1/8-mile event. He's registered BRIS Speed ratings of 100, 104 and 102 in his

last three starts, respectively, and the four-year-old colt exits a solid third

in his graded debut, the Salvator Mile S. (G3). The Kentucky-bred owns a winning

attitude with five wins in his last seven starts, and he figures to sit a

perfect stalking trip under Terry Thompson before pouncing.

Gottcha Gold remains the one to beat in this event, but the five-year-old

seems to perform best when fresh and it's difficult to believe that he'll be

making his third start in six weeks. Throw in the fact that he's failed to

deliver his best while dropping his last two starts at short odds, and the bay appears to be in a negative form cycle. He'll get a jockey switch

to Elvis Trujillo and doesn't need the lead to be effective, but he'll still be

close to what could be a taxing pace.

KISS THE KID (Lemon Drop Kid) owns a solid 4-2-0-1 mark over Monmouth's main track

and is two-for-two overall on a wet track, which looms as a possibility on

Saturday. The Amy Tarrant trainee exits a solid runner-up effort on turf, and he's

faced good company all season. We can't dismiss him from win consideration.

CUBA (Not for Love) exits a nice score over New Jersey-breds and has produced

a very solid 8-6-1-1 mark this season for trainer Robert Dibona. This class hike

looks tough, but the seven-year-old has a shot to close for a minor award.

Shopton Lane owns good present form, but the outside post and other speed in

the field give us cause for concern. GRASSHOPPER (Dixie Union) finished a

well-beaten third in the Whitney H. (G1) last out and hasn't lived up to the

promise that he showed when finishing second in the Travers S. (G1) last year.

The four-year-old did manage to capture a Grade 3 earlier this season, but the

dark bay has failed as the favorite repeatedly and proven apt to throw in a

clunker. We'll let him beat us.

PLEASANT STRIKE (Smart Strike) rolled to a 10-length score in an off-the-turf

event at Colonial Downs last time, but the Grade 3 winner will take a

significant step up in class in this spot. Todd Pletcher is experimenting with

the proven grass runner, and we'll just watch to see how he handles it. Actin

Good figures to show speed off the layoff and would like a wet track, but he'll

probably face too much pressure. FIVE STEPS (Yarrow Brae) has won five of

his last six starts, but he's never raced at Monmouth and faces a difficult task

against graded rivals.