Brown sends three in Mount Vernon

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Chad Brown’s dominance of the filly-and-mare turf division includes the New York-bred ranks.

Brown sends out the trio of Ancient Secret, Fourstar Crook, and Ack Naughty here Monday in the $125,000 Mount Vernon Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on the turf.

Ancient Secret was voted the champion New York-bred female turf horse for 2016 on the basis of her victory in the Grade 2 Lake George Stakes at Saratoga. Fourstar Crook went 4 for 4 last year, including victories in the Yaddo and John Hetttinger stakes, and has a six-race winning streak dating to October 2015.

Ack Naughty ended her 4-year-old campaign last year with a 7 1/2-length victory in a second-level allowance.

Freudie Anne, a winner of three straight allowance races, somehow carries the top weight of 119 pounds in the Mount Vernon, spotting four pounds to the Brown trio. Also entered are Louisville First, Flipcup, and Free N Clear.

Other highlights on the Big Apple Showcase Day card:

◗ Syndergaard, who lost the Grade 1 Champagne to Practical Joke by a nose here last fall, heads a field of 10 entered in the $125,000 Mike Lee Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs. He looks to bounce back from a fifth-place finish as the 1-5 favorite in the William Walker Stakes at Churchill Downs on April 29.

Bobby On Fleek also looks to bounce back from a last-place finish in the Grade 3 Pat Day Mile on Derby Day at Churchill.

◗ Bluegrass Flag, a dominant winner of stakes in her last two starts, heads a field of 11 entered in the $125,000 Bouwerie Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at seven furlongs. Also in the field are Tiznow’s Smile, Swing and Sway, Wilburnmoney, and Noble Freud.

◗ Kathryn the Wise, a winner of both of her starts, steps into stakes company when she faces 10 fillies and mares in the $200,000 Critical Eye going a mile. The field includes Wonderment, the winner of the Grade 3 Bourbonette Oaks in 2016.