On Sunday at Monmouth Park, the featured race is the $150,000 Pegasus Stakes, a key prep race for the Haskell Invitational (G1). The Grade 3 event will be contested at a mile and a sixteenth and has drawn a field of seven three-year-olds.
Unified tops the field as the even-money favorite for trainer James Jerkens. Owned by Centennial Farms, the bay son of Candy Ride (ARG) was purchased for $325,000 as a yearling and is undefeated from three starts. After breaking his maiden in his debut, he strung together two consecutive graded stakes victories in the Bay Shore (G3) and the Peter Pan Stakes (G2). Jose Ortiz will be in the irons and they will break from post four.
Second choice at morning line odds of 3-1 is Donegal Moon for trainer Todd Pletcher who has won this race three times. A chestnut son of Malibu Moon, he has been on the board in four of his ten starts and will be trying to earn his first stakes victory. He was last seen finishing fourth in the Sir Barton Stakes at Pimlico. Joe Bravo will be aboard from post position six.
Also in the field at morning line odds of 5-1 is Abiding Star for trainer Ned Allard. From the first crop of stallionUncle Mo, the dark bay colt is a homebred for Gilbert Campbell’s Stonehedge Farm and has won five of his twelve starts. He will be trying to rebound after a poor performance in the Preakness Stakes (G1). J.D. Acosta will be aboard and they will break from the outside post.
The field is set for the $1 million Haskell, where Nyquist will be trying to re-stake his claim as the top three-year-old in the country.
On Sunday at Monmouth Park, the featured race is the $300,000 United Nations Stakes. Scheduled to be run at a mile and three-eighths on the turf, the Grade 1 event has drawn a field of ten colts and geldings.
With five grade 1 races and a grade 2, the undercard for the June 11 Belmont stakes could be the best single day of racing on the calendar outside of the Breeders’ Cup.
The preparations are underway for the third jewel of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes (G1). Horses have begun to arrive at Belmont Park for the mile and a half contest which is scheduled to be held on Saturday, June 11.
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