Cosmo gets the rail draw as he switches to dirt for the first time. Horse has been racing at only the maiden special weight ranks, where he has yet to break his maiden for trainer Neil Drysdale. I like that Abel Cedillo gets the mount, but Cosmo simply looks overmatched here. Has a shot to pick up pieces with his closing running style if the pace is very contested up front.
Great Power
Lightly raced colt for trainer Simon Callaghan and jockey Drayden Van Dyke. Jockey Flavien Prat received the mount in Great Power’s first two starts, so it is not a great sign that he leaves him to ride the #3 Thousand Words to his outside. Still, Simon Callaghan must like this colt’s shot to improve off the layoff since March to enter him here. Stretches out to a mile and eighth, which may be tough for him. However, he did race against both Charlatan and Rushie and got up for third, and we all know how good both those horses are. Will be tough to catch Uncle Chuck.
Thousand Words
The first of two entries for trainer Bob Baffert. This horse has done his best work for jockey Flavien Prat, as they have earned both a grade two and grade three win at Los Alamitos and Santa Anita, respectively. Thousand Words reunites with Prat here, which is encouraging sign as he hops off the #3 Great Power. Can cross his most recent start out as he stumbled at the start and failed to make up ground on the sloppy track Comes off the layoff for Baffert, who wins 31% of the time off layoffs of 61-180 days. Has beat the #5 Anneau d’Or previously, but I am not sure he can catch him here.
Uncle Chuck – 6/5
Impressive looking colt for trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Luis Saez flies out from New York to ride him here. Uncle Chuck debuted on June 12th at Santa Anita going a mile and romped to win by seven lengths. Earned the best Beyer figure in the field with a 95, and the workouts in the morning look great. You can always expect a horse to improve second out, which is scary given what Uncle Chuck already accomplished.
Anneau d’Or – 3/1
The most experienced colt of the bunch for trainer Blaine Wright and jockey Victor Espinoza. Has been somewhat inconsistent but is the class of the field as he has raced in three grade one stakes. Has the potential to sit just off the pace, and his career best Beyer figure of 94 puts him right in the mix. I will prefer to leave Anneau underneath however, as he has tried the mile and an eighth distance three times, and has failed to hit the board (albeit all in grade one or two stakes tries).