In this biweekly series, racing analyst Keeler Johnson shares promising horses from his handicapping watch list, reviewing runners who have recently caught his eye and previewing horses scheduled to run back in the near future.

Entries

Saturday

Gulfstream Park, race 7. I added River Thames to my watch list after he impressed in his Jan. 11 debut sprinting six furlongs at Gulfstream Park. The Todd Pletcher-trained 3-year-old tracked the pace before taking over to dominate by 4 3/4 lengths with a flashy 94 Beyer Speed Figure from Daily Racing Form.

River Thames will make his second start in a one-mile $75,000 allowance optional claimer at Gulfstream. He’s the 7-5 morning-line favorite and will be tough to beat if he repeats or improves upon his maiden performance.

Santa Anita, race 3. Richi delivered a sharp victory in the Grade 3 Las Flores at Santa Anita last time out, winning the six-furlong sprint by 1 1/2 lengths over Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint third-place finisher Pleasant.

Richi will seek another graded-stakes win in the seven-furlong Santa Monica (G2). She’s facing a small but talented field including La Brea (G1) 1-2 finishers Kopion and Splendora, but Richi has a good chance to take home first prize in her second start back from a seven-month layoff.

Gulfstream Park, race 9. Gunmetal ran strongly in his debut sprinting six furlongs on Dec. 26 at Fair Grounds, pressing hot fractions before taking over to win a maiden special weight by 1 1/4 lengths. Now he’ll seek his first victory as a watch list member in the seven-furlong Swale at Gulfstream.

Gunmetal has to reckon with talented rivals, including Futurity (G3) runner-up Gate to Wire. But with a 96 Beyer Speed Figure under his belt, Gunmetal is likely fast enough to handle the challenge.

Santa Anita race 4. Two watch list members will battle in the one-mile Robert B. Lewis (G3) on the road to the Kentucky Derby.

Citizen Bull is the slim morning-line favorite after ending his championship juvenile campaign with consecutive wins in the American Pharoah (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. But his Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Rodriguez is a serious challenger after crushing a one-mile maiden special weight at Santa Anita by seven lengths.

I give the edge to Citizen Bull, who has turned in an impressive series of fast workouts since the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. But Rodriguez is a talented colt in his own right, and I expect them to run 1-2 in one order or the other.

Gulfstream Park, race 1. Guns Loaded brings lots of early speed into the Holy Bull (G3), his road to the Kentucky Derby debut. He led by a minimum of two lengths at every call of a six-furlong maiden special weight at Churchill Downs, then held on to wire the one-mile Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream Park by a neck.

Now we’ll find out whether Guns Loaded can carry his speed around two turns in a graded stakes. If he can shake loose on an uncontested lead, which isn’t out of the question in this seven-horse field, Guns Loaded could post another gate-to-wire win.

Gulfstream Park, race 12. Cutting back to seven furlongs for the Forward Gal (G3) should help Stunner and Eclatant vie for victory.

Stunner impressively won a couple of starts around one turn, including the one-mile Tempted at Aqueduct, before tiring in her two-turn debut to finish second as the heavy favorite in the 1 1/16-mile FTBOA Florida Sire My Dear Girl.

Eclatant has put together a similar profile. She won her first two starts sprinting, including a six-furlong $100,000 allowance optional claimer at Keeneland, before tiring to finish third by 8 1/2 lengths in the 1 1/16-mile Golden Rod (G2).

Seven furlongs might be a more suitable distance for both fillies, so don’t leave Stunner and Eclatant off your tickets.

Delta Downs, race 10. Touchuponastar hasn’t lost against fellow Louisiana-breds in ages and boasts a 13-for-19 overall record, which includes three runner-up finishes against graded-stakes competition. Understandably, the speedy 6-year-old gelding is the 4-5 morning-line favorite to win the 1 1/16-mile LA Bred Premier Night Championship for the third year in a row.

Touchuponastar is 5-for-6 at Delta Downs and exits a 5 1/4-length victory in the Louisiana Champions Day Classic at Fair Grounds, so anything less than a victory this Saturday will come as a major surprise.

Sunday

Oaklawn, race 1. Prime Power put up a good fight against the above-mentioned Gunmetal when debuting in a six-furlong maiden special weight on Dec. 26 at Fair Grounds. He set the hot pace for five furlongs before weakening late to finish second by 1 1/4 lengths.

Prime Power pulled 7 1/4 lengths clear of the third-place finisher, so if he produces a similar effort while stretching out for a one-mile maiden special weight at Oaklawn, his six rivals are likely running for second place.

Santa Anita, race 7. Eagles Flight, a heralded half-brother to 2022 horse of the year Flightline, ran respectably when returning from a long layoff in a one-mile, $50,000 allowance optional claimer at Santa Anita last month. He raced in second place at every call and was beaten only by the Grade 1-placed Mirahmadi, who is expected to start in the Santa Anita Handicap (G1).

Eagles Flight has posted two sharp workouts since and may bounce back to the winner’s circle while sticking to the same class level for a 1 1/16-mile contest at Santa Anita on Sunday.

2025 Watch List record

In 2025, horses on my watch list have a record of 22: 7-5-3 for a 32 percent win rate and a 68 percent in-the-money rate.

Here is my complete, updated list of Horses to Watch.