Though the $2 million Breeders Cup Mile lost some of its luster with the defection of two-time champion Wise Dan, the Grade 1 race has drawn a competitive, full field of fourteen with one additional on the also-eligible race to compete in the one mile turf event.
Toronado (IRE) has been tabbed as the 5-2 morning line favorite for Richard Hannon. The four-year-old son of Breeders’ Cup Turf winner High Chaparral (IRE) was last seen finishing second by a head in the Prix du Moulin (G1) in France and the multiple Group 1 winner has won six of his eleven starts. He will get Lasix for his stateside debut and will have regular rider Richard Hughes aboard from post five.
Second choice on the morning line at 6-1 is Anodin (IRE), a four-year-old colt with a familiar pedigree. The bay colt is a full brother to champion Goldikova (IRE), a three-time winner of the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Campaigned by the same connections, trainer Freddie Head and jockey Olivier Peslier for owner and breeder Wetheimer and Frere, he has won two of his thirteen starts. Anodin (IRE) will break from post nine.
Also in the field at 6-1 on the morning line is Seek Again for trainer Bill Mott. Owned and bred by Juddmonte Farms, the four-year-old son of Speightstown is trying to rebound after finishing sixth in the Shadwell Turf Mile (G1) last time out. Prior to that, he had been competitive against top North American competition in his stateside races. Joel Rosario will remain aboard and they will break from post twelve.
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.
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.
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.
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