Thanks to the race not being carded in 2023, Smithwick’s Spice waited an extra year to defend his Joey P. Handicap title. It was worth the wait. Jockey Jorge Gonzalez wanted the lead with Smithwick’s Spice, dissuaded pace rivals Gold Trust, Speaking and Bingo’s Boy through an opening quarter in 21.86 seconds, then drew away to prevail by 4 3/4 lengths over Like What I See in Sunday’s $85,000 five-furlong turf dash for New Jersey-breds at Monmouth Park. Grouch placed another half-length behind in third place. Next came Gold Trust, Golden Brown, favored There Are No Words, Speaking and Bingo’s Boy. Lemon Creek Louie and Ohana Empire scratched. Smithwick’s Spice stepped the distance in 55.94 over firm going and returned $5.20 to win as the public’s second choice. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. Smithwick’s Spice is trained by Douglas Nunn, who has kept the gelding busy in 2024. The Joey P. was his 11th start of the year, and his fourth race of the Monmouth meeting. Smithwick’s Spice wintered in Florida, where he captured the Turf Dash at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 24. Smithwick’s Spice won a restricted allowance at Delaware on July 31, scored the open Select at Monmouth 17 days later, then finished sixth in Saratoga’s Harvey Pack on Sept. 2. A homebred owned by Robert Matthies’s New Spice Stable, Smithwick’s Spice is an 8-year-old gelding by Frost Giant. He has compiled a record of 13 wins from 48 starts for career earnings of $692,492. When describing Smithwick’s Spice’s effort in the Harvey Pack earlier this week, Nunn said that the veteran is “not a horse that wants to be down inside. From the quarter pole all the way to the sixteenth pole, he was in tight and even got checked late. I think we didn’t get to see the best of him.” Nunn got Smithwick’s Spice’s best in the Joey P, the final stakes race of the 2024 Monmouth meet. Pinot Grigio Handicap Like fine wine, Bel Pensiero improves with age, and the 4-year-old filly prompted the pacesetter under jockey Ramon Moya before pouncing her way to victory in the $85,000 Pinot Grigio Handicap for New Jersey-bred fillies and mares racing five furlongs on turf. Trained by Anthony Margotta Jr. for Hudson Stable, Let It Ride Equine Holdings and A R M Racing, Bel Pensiero broke best, then let a hard-ridden Let Her Run make the lead from the inside. Let Her Run clocked the opening quarter in 22 seconds flat with Bel Pensiero in closest attendance. In behind those two were race favorite Bingo’s Birkin on the outside and defending Pinot Grigio winner Mia’s Crusade in a comfortable pocket position. Bel Pensiero took over for good turning into the stretch and, despite failing to change leads in the stretch, always had enough in the tank to deny Bingo’s Birkin by three-quarters of a length in 56.67.  Mia’s Crusade finished another two lengths back in third. Summer’s Comin, Delightful Ava, Let Her Run and Captured Darling completed the order of finish. Amazing Graces Joy and Sea Maiden Scratched.  Bel Pensiero returned $13 to win as the fourth choice in the wagering. Bred by ARM Consulting, Bel Pensiero is a daughter of Army Mule out of Milaya, a four-time winner by Eskendereya. The second dam, Trendy Lady, was Grade 3-placed sprinting on polytrack. A winner sprinting on dirt from four starts at two, Bel Pensiero was walked off the track when failing to complete the course in her 3-year-old debut, the Ginger Brew Stakes at Gulfstream. Margotta then decided to focus on state bred races with Bel Pensiero, and the filly perked up, winning allowances sprinting on turf and routing on dirt while placing in two other starts. Bel Pensiero became a true stakes horse in 2024. She finished second in the six-furlong Regret on dirt at Monmouth on July 24, ran fifth in the Incredible Revenge at five-eighths on the turf, then tuned up for the Pinot Grigio with a runner-up placing in the restricted Eleven North Stakes at three-quarters on dirt on Aug. 25. Bel Pensiero has won 4 of 15 races for earnings of $284,937. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.