The United Nations Stakes (Grade 2)- $600.000 Purse
MTH- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and Three Eighths on the Turf
July 20, 2024
King Que Niagra will be in action this Saturday, as the gelding is one of seven horses taking part in the 19th running of the United Nations Stakes from MTH. This is the first year that the race will be run as a grade 2, as it received a downgrade in its classification from last year, but the $600.000 purse was not changed. It has been at that level since 2022, after being $500.000 the year prior, and $300.000 for several years before that. The high for the race was $750.000, from 2006-2011. All eyes will be on King Que Niagra as the 2022 winner of this race looks to do it again, but he could only finish fourth last year. Hammerfest got the win in 2023, for Smokey Stover. He remains active, but is now in the hands of Acber Farms, who recently purchased him at auction. Now, let’s get to meeting our field of seven:
1- Storm Cloud (Mo Mentum Farm, ridden by E Maldonado)- After running second in the Grade 3 San Juan Capistrano Stakes last month, Storm Cloud is going to take on the biggest assignment of his career. He’s been very good in overnights over his lifetime, moving up from smaller claimers into allowances with no problem. With Mo Mentum Farm, he’s taken the additional step and the five-year-old is on the best form of his career. Won’t be the favorite in here, but why not take the shot?
2- Jakarta (Nakamura Stables, ridden by S Elliott)- Ran in the United Nations last year, and was the runner up to Hammerfest, being beaten by a length. He was on a three-race win streak prior to that and had won the Shoemaker Mile. Afterwards, he didn’t win for a while but continued to put out good finishes, before hitting a rut after the BC Mile. He rebounded from that since then, placing second in the SF Mile before finally returning to the winner’s circle in just over a year, in the Grade 3 Poker Stakes.
3- Life Is Beautiful (Riggins Racing, ridden by P Lopez)- Picked up by the trainer in private sales for $200.000 after he won the Connally BC Turf (Grade 3) and has continued to thrive under the guidance of Riggins Racing. They’ve made four starts together and Life Is Beautiful won two of them and has not finished out of the three. All of those are graded races and includes the San Juan Capistrano. He’s had triple digit SRF’s in four of his last five races, and there is nothing that suggests he will let up from that pace.
4- Dark Arts (TwinTowersRacing, ridden by F Geroux)- This is one of those horses that can’t seem to win, but usually finds himself near the front. Well, except for recently, anyway. He’s won only twice in 30 starts but has been second ten times. Unfortunately, his general consistency for finishing in the money has stopped after the BC, and he has been quiet in 2024 before running second for the tenth time in the $175.000 Chorleywood Stakes. I don’t know if I trust him to run just as well again, and even if he does, against this company, it still may not be enough.
5- Killer Instinct (Mb Stables, ridden by M Franco)- Ran second last month in the Grade 1 Manhattan, losing the head bob at the wire to Albaquirky. That result put him just a little shy of $3,000.000 in earnings, something that he hopes to top here. His SRF’s really jump out at me, not only because triple digit figures in eight of his last nine (and the one that wasn’t was a 99), but he had a 103 in the Manhattan, and two before that, he turned a 104 in the Pan American. The start seems particularly important to him, as when he does not run well early, he does not have as good of a finish, so keep an eye on him out of the gate. Either way, he’s as good as anyone else here, and should take a lot of money at the betting window.
6- Fanatical Empire (Smokey Stover, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- The only three-year-old in this field, and that will get him a five-pound weight allowance. He’s only raced seven times, and the next smallest number of races in the field is 23. Fanatical Empire has been able to win, however, rolling off four in a row that included the Grade 3 Transylvania Stakes and the Grade 2 American Turf. For whatever reason, he didn’t show up last time out in the PEN Mile, but he may have been due for a dud like that. He’d be interesting in here regardless, but with the weight allowance, he’s very appealing. Considering that in 2022 there was a dead heat for the win with Smokey’s Cinnamon Strike, this could be the trainer’s third win in a row here.
7- King Que Niagra (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by J R Velazquez)- Obviously, everyone reading this knows that this is one of the best horses in the game that is active right now. King Que Niagra has raced in the United Nations Stakes the last two years, sharing the winner’s circle with the aforementioned Cinnamon Strike in 2022, and then running fourth last year. After that race, the gelding got hot, winning four in a row, all of which were Grade 1’s and including the BC Turf. The fourth race of that streak was the Pegasus World Cup Turf at this start of this year, and that’s the last time he’s won. Ran third in the Grade 1 Manhattan last month. If he doesn’t win, it will be his fourth race in a row without a win, and the last time that happened was in 2021.
Prediction: 5-3-7-6
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
