NEWS: RACING

Perfect Munnings makes it 2-for-2 in Rego Park

Sunday, January 10th, 2021

Perfect Munnings stays that way winning Sunday’s Rego Park at Aqueduct. Susie Raisher/NYRA Photo.

By Tom Law

Perfect Munnings earned his way into the first 3-year-old New York-bred stakes of 2021 in two ways – a handy debut maiden victory late last November and subsequent productive morning training.

The son of Munnings showed he deserved that placement Sunday with a win over seven other freshly turned sophomores in the $100,000 Rego Park Stakes at Aqueduct. Perfect Munnings ran his record to 2-for-2 for owner JP Racing Stable and trainer Todd Pletcher in the 6 1/2-furlong Rego Park, defeating stablemate Storm Shooter by 2 lengths.

“We were pretty optimistic because of the way he breezes on the dirt,” said Byron Hughes, Pletcher’s assistant. “He showed that ability today. He had a good post and Manny [Franco] kept him in the clear and he ran well. Obviously, he’s won on turf and dirt. We’ll keep him up here for now and then we can go back to turf if we have to.”

Perfect Munnings, who won in 1:20.24 on the fast track, came into the Rego Park off a 2-length win going 6 furlongs on the grass Nov. 29 at Aqueduct. He’d breezed on the grass prior to that win – in October at Saratoga Race Course over the Oklahoma Training Track’s turf course – but mainly breezed on the dirt.

Perfect Munnings breezed three half miles over Belmont Park’s training track after his maiden win before the Rego Park and was ready for his main-track debut.

Dismissed as the 7-2 third choice behind another stablemate and fellow debut winner Uno and New York Breeders’ Futurity winner Blue Gator, Perfect Munnings tracked in third behind Storm Shooter and Lookin for Trouble after the break and through the opening quarter-mile in :23.35.

Franco kept him third and out of trouble into the turn and they were just 1 ½ lengths back through Storm Shooter’s half in :47.81. He asked Perfect Munnings for a bit more at the quarter pole, swung him wide into the lane and got a sustained response through the stretch.

“I felt confident about the post,” Franco said. “I was really happy stalking the two horses and when I asked my horse to go before the quarter-pole, he started running for me.”

Perfect Munnings drew off late while Storm Shooter held his spot in second, 1 ¼ lengths ahead of Lookin for Trouble, who edged 6-5 favorite Uno by a nose and narrowly denied a Pletcher-trainee trifecta.

Bred by Tammy Klimasewski and Robert Klimasewski and foaled at their Legend Land Farm in Shortsville, Perfect Munnings is the fifth foal out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Our Perfect Ten. A $370,000 purchase at the 2009 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale, Our Perfect Ten was winless in two starts before heading to the breeding shed for Twin Creeks Farm. The mare’s first two foals – the Curlin gelding Kenyan and the Mission Impazible colt Jaime’s Angel – were bred by Twin Creeks and already winners when Perfect Munnings went through the ring at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred sale.

Consigned by Vinery Sales, agent for Legend Lane Farm, and selling as Hip 553, the colt brought a $50,000 bid from Ralph Bianculli.

Our Perfect Ten sold the previous year, bringing $5,000 while in foal to Uncle Lino, at the 2019 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. The subsequent foal, now a 2-year-old colt, was born in Pennsylvania and remains unnamed.

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