By Brian DiDonato
Dr. Mark Ketner was celebrating a rare feat at the conclusion of Monmouth's New Jersey Thoroughbred Festival Sunday–the Colts Neck-based vet foaled all 10 winners on the card.
“It was pretty crazy,” Ketner said. “We have kind of an unusual practice. I have a farm practice with a racetrack practice based here in Monmouth County. Most of the Jersey-breds are foaled here in Monmouth County, and we've just been lucky enough to have some of the same farms for many years–they're all good farms and they're all right here.”
Highlights of the card included Prendimi (Dance With Ravens)'s head victory over favorite Golden Brown (Offlee Wild) in the Charles Hesse III H. for older males around two turns; heavy favorite Liz's Cable Girl (Cable Boy)'s seventh win at Monmouth and second in the Eleven North H. to increase the 6-year-old mares earnings to more than $500,000; and in-form Royal Urn (Kantharos)'s runaway victory in the New Jersey Breeders H. for sprinters.
“I'm just very fortunate to have good associates who help at the farms,” said Ketner, who also noted that he foaled two runners-up on the card as well. “With some of them, we've actually had the stallions, and some of them we've bred, and foaled and then worked on them all the way through their racing career. In some cases, even after they're done racing. It's a neat little niche.”
Five-year-old Prendimi's dam Cigno d'Oro (Tour d'Or) completed a double of her own, as her 3-year-old son Our Man Luke (Redeemed) broke his maiden one race after the Hesse. Both horses were bred and owned by Jon Coles's GJ Stable and trained by Luis Carvajal, Jr., who also saddled Don's Marsh (Don Six) to an optional claiming victory two races later. Coles and Carvajal campaigned Cigno d'Oro to seven career wins and earnings of more than $372,000.
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