Book'em Danno to star before home crowd

Book'em Danno, New Jersey's best son in many a generation, figures to delight the home state fans on Friday at Monmouth Park in the $200,000 Mr. Prospector S.

Rather than seek a repeat win in the upcoming Alfred G. Vanderbilt (G2) at Saratoga, trainer Derek Ryan has opted to run Book'em Danno in the six-furlong Mr. Prospector. The reigning champion male sprinter, Book'em Danno will use the Mr. Prospector as a prelude to a title defense in the Forego (G1) at Saratoga and then shoot for the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) at Keeneland.

Book'em Danno has run twice this season, finishing second by a neck in the Carter (G2) at Aqueduct and then rallying to repeat in the True North (G3) at Saratoga over 6 1/2 furlongs.

Book'em Danno faces nominal competition in the Mr. Prospector, though Quint's Brew is not without a chance. The Ned Allard-trained five-year-old has won of eight of 14, including four stakes in Maryland and Delaware this season.

Saturday at Monmouth, the Haskell Day undercard is highlighted by the $350,000 Monmouth Cup (G3) over 1 1/8 miles. It has attracted two significant entries, Skippylongstocking and Knightsbridge.

Skippylongstocking has hit a peak this season at the advanced age of seven, capturing the Pegasus World Cup (G1) and Essex H. (G3) over the winter. He was most recently beaten a neck in the Alysheba (G2) at Churchill Downs.

Knightsbridge, a formidable miler, coasted in a pair of graded miles at Gulfstream over the winter before a below-par sixth in the Churchill Downs (G1). He rebounded to finish a clear second to Nysos in the Metropolitan H. (G1) at Saratoga last month.

Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) heroine Splendora figures to be a solid favorite in the $500,000 Molly Pitcher (G2) for fillies and mares over 1 1/16 miles, while Just a Touch and Program Trading look the primary contenders in the $500,000 United Nations (G2) over 1 3/8 miles on the turf.