Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 to feature an all-graded stakes sequence from Saratoga Race Course, Woodbine and Monmouth Park

by Mary Eddy

Free Equibase PPs available

The New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA) will host an all-graded stakes Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday, featuring action from Saratoga Race Course, Woodbine and Grade 1 Haskell Invitational Day at Monmouth Park.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at  https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/cross-country....

The sequence begins at 3:29 p.m. Eastern in Race 8 at Monmouth, the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup for 3-year-olds and upward travelling nine furlongs on the main track. The field of seven is headlined by a pair of runners from the barn of four-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown. Klaravich Stables’ Highly Motivated will look to build on a second-level allowance victory last out on May 28 at Belmont Park where he outdueled stablemate Stage Raider, a half-brother to Triple Crown champ Justify, by a neck in the one-mile contest. Last year, he picked up graded placings when third in the Grade 3 Gotham and second in the Grade 2 Blue Grass behind eventual Belmont Stakes and Travers winner Essential Quality.

Pipeline, who was last seen romping to an allowance victory by nine lengths on April 22 at Aqueduct, picked up a stakes placing with a third-place finish to He’smyhoneybadger in the Perryville last year at Keeneland. Also featured are recent Monmouth allowance winner Rough Sea, who was awarded a 96 Beyer Speed Figure for his 10-length victory on July 9 for trainer Bruno Tessore, and last year’s Grade 3 Salvator Mile winner Informative for conditioner Uriah St. Lewis.

The second leg will see action move north to Woodbine for the Grade 2 Connaught Cup [Race 8, 4:51 p.m.], a seven-furlong sprint over the turf for 3-year-olds and up. 7-year-old veteran Chewing Gum returns for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott for the first time since posting a narrow victory in the Grade 2 Joe Hernandez in January at Santa Anita. The field also features two Grade 1 winners in Shirl’s Speight, the Maker’s Mark Mile winner who enters from a try on dirt that saw him finish third in the Grade 3 Salvator Mile for trainer Roger Attfield; and Silent Poet, who won the Connaught Cup in 2020 and the Grade 1 Highlander last August over the Woodbine turf for trainer Nick Gonzalez.

The field also features a trio of competitors for Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse in Grade 1-placed Tap It to Win, Brazilian Group 2-winner Filo Di Arianna, and 2020 Grade 1 Woodbine Mile runner-up March to the Arch.

The middle leg features 10 turf specialists in search of Grade 1 glory in Monmouth’s United Nations for 3-year-olds and older going 11 furlongs over the turf. Slated as Race 11 at 5:09 p.m., the United Nations will be a rematch between the top three finishers from the Grade 1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan on June 11 at Belmont Park. Chad Brown brings the top two finishers back in Tribhuvan and Adhamo. Tribhuvan stunned the field at odds of 19-1 and will look for a repeat victory in this event after taking last year’s edition over Imperador. Adhamo is still in search of his first American victory, but has finished on-the-board in all three of his outings with each of them being at the graded level.

The Christophe Clement-trained Gufo, a dual Grade 1-winner, is in search of his first top-level victory of the year after finishing third last-out to Tribhuvan and Adhamo in the Manhattan where he stalked in eighth-of-10 and showed a good turn of foot to come up 4 1/2-lengths shy of the victory as the 2-1 favorite.

The Grade 1 Haskell Invitational [Race 12, 5:45 p.m.] features in the penultimate leg with the undefeated Chad Brown trainee Jack Christopher putting his perfect record on the line against Grade 1 winners White Abarrio for conditioner Saffie Joseph, Jr., the Brad Cox-trained Cyberknife and Taiba for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. Jack Christopher’s sparkling resume includes a last-out romp by 10 lengths in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens presented by Mohegan Sun on June 11 at Belmont, and a 2 3/4-length score in the Grade 1 Champagne last year.

Jack Christopher’s Grade 1-winning opponents each scored their top victories on the Road to the Kentucky Derby with White Abarrio capturing the Florida Derby, Cyberknife coming from off the pace to take the Arkansas Derby and Taiba rallying from third-of-6 to take the Santa Anita Derby. Graded stakes-placed Howling Time will look to spring an upset for trainer Dale Romans after losing the Grade 3 Matt Winn to Cyberknife by a nose last out.

Closing out the sequence is the Grade 3 Caress [Race 10, 6:13 p.m.] from Saratoga with 10 older fillies and mares sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs over the Mellon turf course. Brad Cox trainee Caravel will attempt to defend her title after taking last year’s edition en route to a Grade 1 placing in Woodbine’s Highlander. Steep opposition will be provided by graded stakes-winner Souper Sensational, who makes her second outing over the turf for trainer Mark Casse after finishing a close second in the Grade 2 Royal North last out. The speedy Bout Time for trainer Cherie DeVaux and the duo of Miss J McKay and Lady Edith for Christophe Clement provide interest as they each look for their first graded stakes coup.

Saratoga Live will present daily coverage and analysis of the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course on the networks of FOX Sports. For the complete broadcast schedule, visit  https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/tv-schedule.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Saratoga Race Course, and the best way to bet every race of the summer meet. Available to horse players nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at  www.NYRABets.com.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, July 23:

Leg A: Monmouth Park-Race 8, G3 Monmouth Cup (3:29 p.m. Eastern)

Leg B: Woodbine-Race 8, G2 Connaught Cup (4:51 p.m.)

Leg C: Monmouth Park-Race 11, G1 United Nations (5:09 p.m.)

Leg D: Monmouth Park-Race 12, G1 Haskell Invitational (5:45 p.m.)

Leg E: Saratoga Race Course-Race 10, G3 Caress (6:13 p.m.)