- Crown and Coke- Mena/ Lawrence
- A 2yo Graded Stakes race at Churchill Downs is where this Mountaineer MSW winner is headed. This 2yo is already gelded which is a negative sign in my opinion. It’s a negative because it means that the breeding on this horse isn’t anything special. He did dominate against that weak field, but he would need to step up incredibly today in order to compete.
- Hulen- Lanerie/ Asmussen
- Hulen is one of two Asmussen’s to run here. Hulen is an interesting colt for Asmussen and was bred by the Asmussen’s as well. He ran pretty solid in debut earning a 58 beyer at Churchill back on June 12th. It will be tough to tell how he will improve moving up to this Graded event but I like his chances even without Asmussen.
- Gatsby- Gaffalione/ Alvarado
- Gatsby, ran an impressive debut race at Gulfstream against a pretty solid bunch. Golden Pal came back to run at Royal Ascot and run a solid and strong 2nd in a Grade 2. The horse who ran 3rd Just Right Mike came back to win as well. He has been working lights out as well and I think he will be hard to beat here.
- Hyperfocus- Velazquez/ Pletcher
- Hyperfocus, beat a slightly weaker field in his debut at Gulfstream back in May. He closed strongly which means he should like the 6 Furlong distance today. He is bred very well and could be a very strong horse for the Pletcher barn.
- Herd Immunity- Hernandez Jr./ Miller
- Herd Immunity is a Peter Miller horse shipping in from Santa Anita today which is a positive. He didn’t beat much in his debut but he ran very solid. I wish Prat would have flown here instead of Ohio today but he didn’t and that is a negative to me.
- Cazadero- Santana Jr./ Asmussen
- Cazadero dominated in his debut. I don’t know how much he beat back in May, but he crushed them. He should go gate to wire here if he can duplicate his previous performance. Santana Jr rides again today and chooses this one over the #2 Hulen. I think he will be tough to beat here if he shows up.
- County Final- Graham/ Ennis
- Country Final is trying dirt for the first time and in a Graded Stakes event. He broke his maiden going 5 ½ on the turf where he went gate to wire. It was a solid time and he seems professional in his debut. I just don’t know if he wants dirt. Turf might be his preference.
TOP PICKS:
#3 Gatsby
#6 Cazadero
#4 Hyperfocus