Cleverly named Flay Mignon came out of the gate running and made mincemeat of the competition to capture the Colleen Stakes for two-year-old filles at Monmouth Park on Sunday. Breaking from the middle of the gate as part of a 1-2 favorite entry with Pray a Novena, the bay filly homebred by Yesbyjimmy showed a quick turn of foot to get up between rivals to grab the early lead. Ridden by jockey Paco Lopez, she opened with a fast 21:55 and covered the five furlongs on the turf in 56:77.
Taken in hand by Lopez around the turn, Flay Mignon actually let Jonesin for Jerry poke a head in front at the top of the stretch, but when Lopez – on his way to his third winner of the day – let out the reins, she found another gear and pulled away to win by 1 ¾ lengths. Pure Lady Like was second and Aibhilin made a late run to get up for third. The other half of the entry, Pray a Novena, finished seventh, but less than four lengths back. Flay Mignon is now two-for-two in her short career.
Also on the weekend at Monmouth, Seaneen Girl finally got the result she was looking for when she cruised to a six-length win in the Grade III Monmouth Oaks. A Grade II winner last year, she had failed to find the winner’s circle in five previous stakes attempts this year, and was winless in six overall, coming off a sixth-place finish in the Grade III Arlington Oaks. In the 1 1/16 miles Monmouth Oaks, she stalked the pace of Makayla’s Angel to the ¾-pole before kicking in to draw away.
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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