Photo:

Gulfstream Park / Lauren King

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.

Results

Saturday

Gulfstream Park, race 4. River Thames is new to my watch list after debuting with a powerful victory in a six-furlong maiden special weight.

Facing eight fellow 3-year-olds, the Todd Pletcher-trained son of Maclean’s Music started as the 5-2 second choice behind Vanderbilt, an odds-on favorite from the barn of Brad Cox. Both colts ran well, but River Thames proved decisively best, advancing from just behind fractions of 22.49 and 45.47 seconds to pull clear down the homestretch and score by 4 3/4 lengths.

According to the Equibase GPS result chart, River Thames ran his final two furlongs in 11.87 and 12.93 seconds to reach the finish line in a snappy 1:10.27. He earned a 94 Beyer Speed Figure from Daily Racing Form and certainly could develop into a contender on the road to the Kentucky Derby this winter.

I’m also adding Vanderbilt to my watch list. Making his first start, the $1.1 million yearling acquisition carved out the pace and stayed on nicely behind River Thames, pulling five lengths clear of the third-place finisher while crossing the wire in 1:11.07 seconds. With this promising debut under his belt, I anticipate Vanderbilt will break his maiden next time.

Tampa Bay Downs, race 4. Technically, watch list member Owen Almighty finished fifth when returning from a four-month layoff in the seven-furlong Pasco for 3-year-olds. But no one can deny he ran a winning race.

Making his first start since a runner-up finish in the Iroquois (G3), Owen Almighty showed abundant speed in his return, dueling through fast fractions of 21.92 and 44.53 seconds. He stayed on down the homestretch to cross the wire in front by one length in 1:22.50, but because he caused a rival to check sharply around the three-eighths pole, the stewards disqualified Owen Almighty from first to fifth place.

So although I can’t officially count Owen Almighty as a watch-list winner, it was encouraging to see the son of Speightstown pick up where he left off last year. I’ll give him another try next time.

Sunday

Gulfstream Park, race 9. Suncroft faltered in his return from a seven-month layoff. Sent off at 2-1 in a seven-furlong $62,500 allowance optional claimer at Gulfstream Park, he vied for command through fractions of 22.81 and 45.25 seconds before fading steadily to finish last of six, beaten 20 1/2 lengths.

This marked Suncroft’s second straight defeat. Last June, he finished third by 3 1/2 lengths in an $80,000 allowance optional claimer at Churchill Downs. Off these back-to-back losses, I’ll remove Suncroft from my watch list.

2025 watch list record

In 2025, horses on my watch list have recorded nine starts, two wins, three seconds, and two thirds for a 22 percent win rate and a 78 percent in-the-money rate.

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