New Jersey-bred Charleymillionaire has been made the morning line co-third choice and at 5-1 will face six others on Monday in the $100,000 Jimmy Winkfield Stakes for three-year-olds going six furlongs on the dirt at Aqueduct. A son of multiple graded stakes winner Sky Mesa, Charleymillionaire has five starts to his credit with a pair of wins. He’s also been second twice, including a runner-up finish behind the highly regarded Flay Mignon in the Jersey Juvenile Stakes at Monmouth in October. After finishing sixth next time out in a mid-level allowance at Parx, he came back to win under the same conditions in late November.
A lukewarm favorite for the race at 5-2 is Florida’s Hot Heir Skier, who has been second and then first in two career lifetime starts, breaking his maiden three weeks ago at Laurel, where he won comfortably by more than three lengths as the even-money favorite. The 3-1 second choice for the Winkfield is Oliver Zip, who won his first start in early November at Laurel, and then came to Aqueduct to run a very good second in the Don Rickles Stakes, running down the race favorite in deep stretch to take place money.
With the scratch of Alex Inc, only one other in the field is listed in double digits, and several of the others would seem to be in with a legitimate chance. Along with Charleymillionaire, Cavu is also 5-1 and won last out after finishing third in his maiden bow. At 6-1, Eye Luv Lulu has two straight wins on the Aqueduct dirt. An interesting choice to get on the ticket is 8-1 Pax Obis, by far the most experienced runner in the field with five starts already on his record. All five have come at Laurel, and he’s never been out of the money, having won his last time out and two of his last three.
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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