Presious Passion to pass on United Nations

OCEANPORT, N.J. - There will be no three-peat for Presious Passion in the United Nation Stakes on Saturday at Monmouth Park. The winner of the last two editions of the Grade 1 stakes was not entered on Wednesday for the 1 3/8-mile race on the turf.

Presious Passion had not run well in his last two outings, finishing 16th in the Dubai Sheema Classic on March 27 and seventh in the Monmouth Stakes on June 12. Attempts to reach trainer Mary Hartmann were not successful.

Even without Presious Passion, the premier turf event of the meet drew five Grade or Group 1 winners: Telling, Acclamation, Winchester, Take the Points, and Jeune-Turc from Brazil.

Winchester could be favored in the nine-horse field following his upset of stablemate Gio Ponti in the Grade 1 Manhattan at Belmont Park.

As in the Manhattan, Winchester will have an uncoupled barnmate. Trainer Christophe Clement has also entered Laureate Conductor, winner of the Choice Stakes here last summer.

A strong case can also be made for Acclamation, shipping in from Hollywood Park following consecutive handicap wins in the Grade 2 Murray and the Grade 1 Whittingham.

Take the Points, fourth most recently in the Manhattan, earned his Grade 1 stripes last year in the Secretariat at Arlington and the Jamaica at Belmont.

Telling pulled off the 33-1 shocker in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer at Saratoga last August. His latest effort was a fifth-place finish in the Louisville Handicap.

Jeune-Turc is a multiple Group 1 winner in his native Brazil.

Chinchon returns from France for the first time since getting fourth in last year's Man o' War at Belmont.

Get Serious and Straight Story are the two local runners in the field. The New York-bred Get Serious was the pacesetting winner of the Grade 3 Monmouth Stakes, the prep race over the course for the U.N.