Bernier: How I'll play Monmouth on Saturday, June 30

The Grade 1 United Nations is the main event of a 13-race card at Monmouth Park on Saturday afternoon, and I’m interested in looking at an all-stakes pick three sequence, culminating with the U.N.

RACE 9 – EATONTOWN

Chad Brown is well represented in this year’s Eatontown with two mares that figure to take the lion’s share of the money: ELYSEA’S WORLD (1) and DREAM AWHILE (4). I’ve never been a big fan of Elysea’s World, and I don’t particularly love Dream Awhile; having said that, I much prefer Dream Awhile in this spot, coming off the heels of a solid third-place finish in the Distaff Mile at Churchill Downs on Derby weekend. The most interesting horse in the race for me is LIFT UP (3) for Michael Dickinson. Lift Up has yet to run nearly as fast as the two Brown horses, but the way she finished in her turf stakes debut most recently was exceptional. A replica of that effort makes her a legitimate threat to win her graded stakes debut.

RACE 10 – LADY’S SECRET

The Lady’s Secret boils down to one question: can DIVINE MISS GREY (2) successfully stretch-out to two turns? If she can, she’s strictly the horse to beat for trainer Danny Gargan. Divine Miss Grey lays over the field from a Beyer standpoint as well as a class standpoint, and if she can handle the route-of-ground, she’s likely too much for these girls. In case she has issues with the two-turn configuration, TOTAL CONTROL (5) enters the Lady’s Secret in good form for Brian Lynch. This daughter of Bellamy Road was impressive winning an N2X at Parx most recently, and the TimeformUS figure she earned that day gives her a puncher’s chance.

RACE 11 – UNITED NATIONS

Chad Brown has four of the nine entrants in this year’s United Nations, but I’m only really interested in one: the morning-line favorite, MONEY MULTIPLIER (5). Money Multiplier loves Monmouth Park, sporting a 3-2-1-0 record over the Oceanport turf course, and he’s likely to work out an ideal stalking trip beneath Joe Bravo. I’m also interested in ONE GO ALL GO (2), a horse that could be loose on the lead. If he’s allowed to dictate terms on the front end without much pressure, he’ll be tough to run down.

THE PLAY

$5 P3 - 3,4 / 2,5 / 2,5 = $40