In recent years, the debate over 3 year old male of the year has been pretty simple. Last Year, it was obviously Justify. 2017, It was West Coast. 2016 was Arrogate, and 2015 of course was American Pharoah. This year, though, there is not a clear cut front runner for the top 3 year old. Some will argue it’s Maximum Security; I disagree. So who has the best chance of winning it then? I think it’s safe to take a wait and see approach until the Breeder’s Cup, but for now, here is my list of the top 3 year olds.
For what it’s worth, the 3 year olds nominated to the BC classic are: Code of Honor, Tacitus, Owendale, Math Wizard, and War of Will
Contenders
- Code of Honor
- He (technically) beat older when (technically) defeating the older Vino Rosso in the Jockey Club Gold Cup. The thing is this: Even if he didn’t get put up and ran second, it was still a huge race, plus the fact that he won the Travers (2 of the past 4 winners for 3yo of the year also won the Travers). He’s improving at a perfect time of the year and could be a live shot in the Classic. Right now, he has my vote.
- Mr. Money
- He won four consecutive Grade 3’s before running second in the Pennsylvania Derby. I’m not so sure if he has a legit chance of winning but I would certainly argue he is the best of the rest.
- Math Wizard
- There was a horse that was entered in a 16k Maiden Claiming race at Gulfstream last December that is now nominated for the Breeder’s Cup, and his name is not Maximum Security. Math Wizard is not getting the credit he deserves after winning the Pennsylvania Derby. Sure, he was a longshot, and yes, it’s a weak 3 year old crop this year, but I think he runs a big race in the BC Classic; not to win, per say, but in the money is not out of the question with him. Don’t @ me.
Pretenders
- Maximum Security
- Sorry MS fans, I’m not a believer in him. Regardless of whether or not he should have been DQ’ed in the derby, he hasn’t shown a whole lot since. He was upset and ran second in the Pegasus stakes at Monmouth, then won in the Haskell… with another inquiry. Haskell day was a very weird day with the heat delaying the races (which is another story) and the field he faced wasn’t great. Really the only other horse worth mentioning would be Mucho Gusto who did come back to run well in the Travers. The problem is that the connections skipped the Travers to race in the Pennsylvania Derby, and then he got sick and had to be scratched. That’s not his fault and it was just bad timing, but he needed to win one of those races to boost his resume and he didn’t. Hard to like him when his most legit win was way back in March in the Florida Derby.
- Tacitus
- The thing about Tacitus is there always seems to be some sort of excuse. He ran third in the Derby and second in the Belmont. Then he stumbled at the break in the Jim Dandy, dueled against Mucho Gusto in the Travers and got outrun late by COH, and in the JCGC didn’t have enough to be in contention late. He almost seems like Bravazo from last year who consistently runs in the money but just can’t find his way to the winner’s circle. He’s talented yes, but a bunch of seconds and thirds doesn’t do it for me.
Worth Mentioning
- Owendale
- Winner of the Oklahoma Derby is now nominated for the BC Classic. Three Grade 3 wins, plus a third in the Preakness and a fifth in the Travers. Not bad, but he will have his work cut out for him in the Classic.
- War of Will
- Another Classic nominee, if you had asked me after the Preakness who I thought 3yo of the year was I would say War of Will, but he didn’t run his best in the Belmont, got a very poor trip riding a dead rail in the Jim Dandy, then came back to run third in the Pennsylvania Derby behind Math Wizard and Mr. Money. Like Owendale, he’s up for a big challenge facing a lot of other talented horses next month.
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