Horses to single in Monmouth's $31,446 Pick 5 carryover

Fans of non-jackpot carryovers will be happy to hear the Sunday card at Monmouth Park boasts a hefty $31,446 Pick 5 prize pool.

The 50-cent wager gets underway right off the bat in Race 1 (post time 12:15 p.m. ET). The sequence contains only 36 entries and 18,816 possible outcomes, so constructing a solid ticket on a reasonable budget should be manageable.

After analyzing the entries, we’ve identified a pair of possible singles to consider:

Race 2: Maiden Special Weight (one mile): #3 El de Chimi (3-1)

El de Chimi ran a gutsy race in his debut sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs against maiden special weight competition at Monmouth last month. After dueling for the lead, El de Chimi weakened only slightly in the final furlong to finish second, beaten 2 1/2 lengths with a 72 Brisnet Speed rating that tops Sunday’s field.

El de Chimi has the pedigree to stretch out in distance, and he also has hot trainer Juan Avila (a 21% winner at Monmouth) in his corner. A bullet half-mile workout in :47 1/5 on Aug. 6 at Monmouth signals El de Chimi’s readiness to produce a winning effort in his first start running long. It’s also encouraging that jockey Carlos Olivero has gone 2-for-5 (40%) teaming up with Avila over the last two months.

Race 3: $16,000 Claiming (six furlongs): #7 Mugsy Malone (5-2)

The three-year-old gelding Mugsy Malone only has to beat six rivals in this $16,000 claimer for horses who have never won two races, and all signs suggest he’s up to the task.

Since being claimed by high-percentage trainer Claudio Gonzalez (a 22% winner at Monmouth this meet), Mugsy Malone has been competing with aplomb. He ran second in a $16,000 claimer at Laurel, and then—after coming home fourth in a $30,000-$25,000 claimer at Monmouth—Mugsy Malone returned to the $16,000 claiming level and unleashed a game rally to finish second in a six-furlong dash at Monmouth, beaten half a length.

The latter effort produced an 80 Brisnet Speed rating, which looks solid against Sunday’s field. Mugsy Malone has enough tactical speed to stay within shouting range of the early pace, and if he repeats his last effort, he can pounce to victory as the slim favorite. Keep in mind, jockey Carlos Rojas has gone 5-for-15 (33%) teaming up with Gonzalez over the last two months.

Good luck!