(Edited Calder Race Course report)

Jockeys Elvis Trujillo and Paco Lopez won back-to-back riding titles at Calder Casino & Race Course in 2007 and 2008, respectively, and the two are curreently one-two in the standings at the rich MonmouthPark meet closing on Monday with Lopez holding a lead of six over Trujillo at 65-59.

Jockey Eddie Castro won back-to-back Calder meet championships in 2004-05 and later moved on to ride at Monmouth in the summers where he currently ranks fifth in the standings behind Lopez and Trujillo with 38 wins. Veteran Manoel Cruz won the 2003, 2006 and 2009 Calder meet championships and is currently second to 18-year-old Luis Saez at 106-103 in a bid for a fourth Calder meet trophy.

In addition to the jockeys, several trainers with full division based at Calder year-round have maintained successful strings at Monmouth during this rich meet, including David Fawkes and Eddie Plesa, Jr. with 11 and 10 wins, respectively, while both are in the top five at Calder as well.

Fawkes has had a strong year led by stakes stars Big Drama and Duke of Mischief, the former a game second in the $250,000 Forego Stakes (G1) Saturday at Saratoga and the latter winner of the $300,000 Philip H. Iselin Handicap (G3) at Monmouth on Aug. 21.

Another Calder-Monmouth connection played out Saturday afternoon at Monmouth when owner-trainer-breeder Wesley Ward sent out his Florida homebred 2-year-old gelding Madman Diaries to capture the $150,000 Sapling Stakes (G3) with Calder-based jockey Jeffrey Sanchez flying up for the mount.

Ward had Madman Diaries entered in the $100,000 Fasig-Tipton Turf Dash on Calder’s Juvenile Showcase program last weekend, but scratched in favor of a start in the Sapling. Sanchez had made three trips to Woodbine in Canada previously to ride the son of Bring the Heat, including a 9 ¼ lengths victory in the $150,000 Victoria Stakes in June.

Sanchez is the regular rider of Jacks or Better Farm’s homebred 2-year-old filly Awesome Feather, undefeated winner of the Desert Vixen and Susan’s Girl divisions of the Florida Stallion Stakes series at Calder this summer for trainer Stanley Gold. The daughter of Awesome of Course will be the local favorite in the $375,000 My Dear Girl Division finale on Festival of the Sun day, Sat., Oct. 16.