Brown Has Strength in Numbers for United Nations

Often times when a trainer has multiple contenders in the same division capable of top level efforts, they pour over condition books in an effort to try and keep their own from knocking heads against one another.

As usual, however, two-time Eclipse Award winner Chad Brown is too stocked with turf talent to afford himself the luxury of trying not to beat himself.

The June 30 edition of the $300,000 United Nations Stakes (G1T) at Monmouth Park could double as the latest showing of It's a Chad, Chad, Chad, Chad World with the Brown barn boasting a quartet of entrants slated to go to post in the nine-horse field for the 1 3/8-mile contest.

At the head of the deep Brown bench in Saturday's test is Al Shahania Stud's Money Multiplier, a multiple graded stakes winner with more than $1.2 million in his bankroll and a history of throwing down some of his best career efforts on the Jersey Shore. The 6-year-old son of Lookin At Lucky  ran second in the 2016 United Nations and has notched both of his graded victories over the Oceanport course, taking back-to-back editions of the Monmouth Stakes (G2) in 2017-18.

His most recent triumph in that test came on May 26 when he sat off pacesetter Frostmourne and then held off multiple grade 1 winner Divisidero by three-quarters of a length. In addition to snapping a five-race losing skid, that Monmouth Stakes effort showed Money Multiplier was none the worse for wear following a trip to Qatar Feb. 24 where he finished third in the H.H. The Emirs Trophy Presented by Longines (G1).

"He seems to really like Monmouth's turf course. That's his biggest asset in this race," said Brown, whose turf earnings of more than $16.5 million last year were nearly twice that of his nearest competitor. "He has proven he's a top quality horse. He was narrowly beaten in the United Nations two years ago, so I think he has a good chance in the race."

Money Multiplier was installed as the 5-2 morning-line choice out of post five for the United Nations and will have Joe Bravo in the irons.

Breaking next to Money Multiplier out of post 4 will be stablemate and 9-2 third-choice on the morning line, Kurilov. Also a son of Lookin At Lucky, 5-year-old Kurilov finished second in the Gulfstream Park Turf Stakes (G1T) in his seasonal bow Feb. 10 and earned his first stateside win last time out when he finished in a dead heat with Profiteer in a 1 1/4-mile allowance race on the inner turf at Belmont Park May 25.

Among those Kurilov bested that day was stablemate and fellow U.N. entrant Silverwave. Brown says the son of Silver Frost  "has been disappointing" since coming to his stable three starts ago but the 6-year-old does own a group 1 victory in France, having won the Grand Prix de Saint Cloud in 2016.

"I feel he is training much better now than he has at any time since he has been in our care," said Brown, who rounds out his United Nations foursome with recent allowance winner Funtastic. "It's worth taking a shot based on his workouts, particularly the last one. So I'm going to take a shot in a big race with him and hope he regains that past form."

Brown has strength in numbers for the United Nations but the Mike Maker-trained Bigger Picture has the bragging right of having prevailed in this race a year ago. The 7-year-old Badge of Silver gelding rallied from last in the contest last July to win by a head and opened his 2018 campaign with a win in the John B. Connally Turf  Cup Stakes (G3T) on Jan. 28. He has struggled in two starts since, however, finishing seventh in both the Pan American  (G2T) and Man o' War Stakes (G1T).

"He's doing well," said Maker. "His last race wasn't up to par but he's getting older so I don't know if he is losing some consistency. At the same time, that was a tough field - which you expect in a grade 1 race.

"He ran so well at Monmouth last year in this race we felt it was only fair to give him a shot at it again. Thankfully, he has been very healthy. He's a pretty straightforward horse."

Maker will also saddle multiple graded stakes winner Oscar Nominated in the United Nations with the son of Kitten's Joy  finishing second in his last start to One Go All Go in the Dixiana Elkhorn Stakes at Keeneland April 21.

Entries: United Nations S. (G1T)

Monmouth Park, Saturday, June 30, 2018, Race 11

• Grade IT
• 1 3/8m
• Turf
• $300,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 6:01 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Funtastic (KY)	Antonio A. Gallardo	118	Chad C. Brown	15/1
2	2One Go All Go (VA)	Chris Landeros	120	Charles L. Dickey	8/1
3	3Profiteer (KY)	Trevor McCarthy	118	Claude R. McGaughey III	8/1
4	4Kurilov (CHI)	Irad Ortiz, Jr.	118	Chad C. Brown	9/2
5	5Money Multiplier (KY)	Joe Bravo	120	Chad C. Brown	5/2
6	6Oscar Nominated (KY)	Eric Cancel	118	Michael J. Maker	4/1
7	7Silverwave (FR)	Rajiv Maragh	118	Chad C. Brown	6/1
8	8Bigger Picture (KY)	Kendrick Carmouche	118	Michael J. Maker	6/1
9	9Vettori Kin (BRZ)	Paco Lopez	118	Kenneth G. McPeek	10/1