Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
MONMOUTH Brown loads United Nations
When handicapping the United Nations at Monmouth Park on Saturday, you first must rank Chad Brown’s four runners. The next step is to rate them against the other five in the field. Neither task is easy.
Brown has strength in numbers and an edge in quality – but maybe not by a great margin. The challengers include One Go All Go, who is having an enviable campaign for Kentuckybased Scooter Dickey; Profiteer, who is steadily improving for Shug McGaughey; and the hard-knocking Mike Maker super-claims Bigger Picture – who won this race in 2017 – and Oscar Nominated.
The $300,000 United Nations, a 1 3/8-mile turf race, is the first of two Grade 1’s at Monmouth. The Haskell Invitational follows in four weeks.
The United Nations undercard includes the Grade 3 Iselin, Grade 3 Eatontown, and Lady’s Secret. All the stakes but the Iselin are part of a pick four that concludes with a conditioned $25,000 claimer. If there is a single winning ticket, its owner is guaranteed a $150,000 payout.
The United Nations goes through Money Multiplier, who has a 3-2-1-0 record over Monmouth turf. He was second to World Approval in the 2016 U.N. and has won the last two runnings of the 1 1/8-mile Monmouth Stakes.
While the strapping 6-yearold ridgling has earned $1.2 million, the knock is that from 22 career starts he has five wins and seven seconds. Still, when he returned to the winner’s circle May 26, he was so revved up it looked as if he could have raced again that afternoon.
It’s possible this could be his breakout season.
“He’s trained very well since he won the Monmouth Cup,” Brown said. “He loves Monmouth. That’s his biggest asset.”
Silverwave, 6, will be making his third start in the United
States. He scored four group victories in his native France, including the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and Group 2 Prix Foy in 2016 and the Group 2 Grand Prix de Chantilly last year.
He finished fifth following a layoff in the Grade 3 Fort Marcy at 1 1/8 miles in May and was fourth, beaten three-quarters of a length, by the dead-heat winners Profiteer and Kurilov – whom he will meet again Saturday – in a high-level optionalclaimer going 1 1/4 miles at Belmont Park.
“He’s been a little disappointing,” Brown said, “and didn’t fire as I expected last time, but he’s training better since that race and it’s worth trying him at this slightly longer distance to see if we can get him back to his Grade 1 form in Europe.”
Silverwave’s 2016 and 2017 group victories all came at 1 1/2 miles. Don’t underestimate him in the U.N.
Kurilov and Profiteer ran very well in their shared Belmont victory. The thirdplace finisher, Highland Sky, came back to win going 1 3/8 miles last Sunday at Belmont.
Kurilov, who is trained by
Brown, is 1 for 5 in the United States, but has raced well in all but one start, which came over yielding ground.
“I think he has a big shot and can be a Grade 1 horse over firm ground,” Brown said.
Funtastic, Brown’s fourth horse, is moving way up in class after winning a Belmont secondlevel optional-claiming race on the lead going 1 1/2 miles.
“They all are a little different, they each have their positives,” Brown said of his contingent.
Profiteer’s Beyer Speed Figures have been inching up. This will be his first start beyond 1 1/4 miles, but he looks ready for it.
One Go All Go, 6, was purchased for $62,000 at the Keeneland November sale. He has since won the Grade 2 Elkhorn at Keeneland, been graded-placed four other times, and earned $370,000.
He may go to the front in the U.N. In his last start, the 13-horse Manhattan, he didn’t make the lead but raced forwardly. He dropped back and lost position on the far turn, then came back on to be beaten only 3 1/4 lengths while checking in 11th.
“We’re still trying to figure that one out,” Dickey said.
Maker claimed Bigger Picture for $32,000 in 2015. He has since earned $957,000. He won the Grade 3 Connally Cup at Sam Houston in his 7-year-old debut but has since finished seventh twice.
“I have no explanation for his last two races except maybe he’s getting a little older,” Maker said. “He’s as good as I can get him, but I’ve said that for the last two races, too.”
Oscar Nominated, a Maker claim for $75,000 out of a 2015 maiden win, has earnings of just less than $1.5 million. He was beaten four lengths by stablemate Bigger Picture in the 2017 U.N.
“It really all comes down to the trip with those two,” Maker said.
Vittori Kin stretched out from 1 1/16 miles to 1 1/2 miles to win the Grade 3 Louisville at Churchill Downs in his last start for trainer Ken McPeek. It’s possible he has found his niche.