How to bet the 2023 Philip H. Iselin Stakes

A compact field of six will go postward in the Monmouth Park feature on Saturday, the $250,000 Philip H. Iselin S. (G3). The 1 1/16-mile contest on the main surface is led by the surging #4 Zozos for conditioner Brad Cox. The four-year-old has impressed in reeling off a trio of wins in succession in advance of his local debut, and I will key the Munnings colt on top in my plays.

Iselin Wagers

$20 exacta 4 with 2,6 ($40)

$5 trifecta key 4 with 2,6 ($10)

Zozos was a game winner of the Knicks Go S. at Churchill Downs in May, and the colt was last seen taking the Hanshin S. at Ellis Park while overcoming a sloppy, sealed surface. The homebred, who is a sharp six-for-nine lifetime, has the right running style for the course, and he also has a lot of room for growth being relatively lightly raced, as well. Florent Geroux coming in to ride is a major plus.

#6 Whelen Springs has displayed massive improvement at this meeting since stretching out and also having the blinkers removed. Trained by Lindsay Schultz, the four-year-old son of Street Sense was sharp in an allowance tilt in his first appearance for this conditioner, prior to coming home a clear second in the Monmouth Cup S. (G3) in his latest showing. The Arkansas-bred shows a swift half-mile drill leading up to Saturday and will be tracking the pace early on with Jose Ferrer retaining the ride.

I like #2 Steal Sunshine as an exotics player from off of the early tempo under Hector Diaz, Jr. By Constitution, the four-year-old colt bagged the Ellis Park Derby in 2022 to prove that he has some class to him, and the Bobby Dibona pupil always puts in a solid late run, as well. The Kentucky-bred is not a prime win threat, but I really like his chances to grab a share at a fair number. I expect this top-three player to save ground behind moderate early splits to the top of the lane before unleashing his stretch burst.