Ebony Ball overcame late traffic to come off the pace, then had enough left to hold off the late-charging Kodiak Katie by a half-length to win the featured $50,000 allowance at Monmouth Park on Sunday, May 20. 

          Trained by Rory Huston, Ebony Ball changed tactics from her previous start, when she was near the pace throughout. 

          “I told (jockey Jairo Rendon) to lay off the pace this time,” said Huston. “I thought there was a lot of speed in the race. I figured we’d lay off and try to come running late.” 

          That’s exactly what the 5-year-old mare did in winning for the third time in 11 career starts. She was sent off at 6-1 in the field of 10 Jersey-breds, returning $14.60 to win. The exacta paid $241.00. 

          Time for the five and a half furlongs was 1:05.65. 

          Rendon said he was a bit concerned when the tenor of the race changed when 6-5 favorite first broke though the gate, then never reached the lead as expected. 

          “There was still enough speed for us to close,” Rendon said. “I was in a little trouble on the far turn because of the horses in front of me but I found a way to get through. I saw the other horse (Kodiak Katie) flying on the outside late but my filly finished strong.” 

Live racing resumes at Monmouth Park on Saturday, May 26 – the start of a three-day Memorial Day weekend of racing. Post time is 12:50 p.m.