Photo:

Adam Coglianese / NYRA

In this biweekly series, racing analyst J. 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

Sunday

Aqueduct, race 9: It appears Calling Card is significantly better on dirt than turf, which isn’t too surprising since the New York-bred juvenile is a son of Champagne (G1) winner Complexity out of a mare by two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic conqueror Tiznow.

Calling Card made his first two starts on turf, finishing fifth in a 5 1/2-furlong sprint at Saratoga before improving to second in a 1 1/16-mile contest at Aqueduct. The latter effort was a step in the right direction, but when trainer Mike Maker switched Calling Card to dirt for a one-mile maiden special weight against New York-breds on Sunday, the dark bay colt ran out of his skin.

Indeed, Calling Card launched a sweeping rally from nearly 10 lengths off the early pace to crush his competition by 17 1/4 lengths in the sharp time of 1:36.36. That effort yielded a respectable 87 Beyer Speed Figure from the Daily Racing Form. David Grening of Daily Racing Form reports that Calling Card could join the Road to the Kentucky Derby in either the Remsen (G2) or the Jerome at Aqueduct, so I’m adding Calling Card to my watch list.

Entries

Saturday

Del Mar, race 8: Ultra Power has shown flashes of significant talent for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. The beautifully bred son of Curlin out of two-time champion Unique Bella first caught eyes in a seven-furlong maiden special weight at Los Alamitos in September 2023, which he won by four lengths.

A subsequent sixth-place finish on turf in the Qatar Golden Mile was followed by a 10-month layoff. But when Ultra Power made his belated 3-year-old debut in an Aug. 31 $40,000 allowance optional claimer racing one mile at Del Mar, he made a great impression, winning easily by seven lengths.

Ultra Power’s latest effort was respectable; he charged hard to finish third by a neck in a 1 1/16-mile $80,000 allowance optional claimer at Santa Anita. He won’t necessarily be favored while stepping up in class for Saturday’s 1 1/8-mile Native Diver (G3) at Del Mar, but Ultra Power still has upside and shouldn’t be underestimated. One of these days, he may put everything together and mature into the graded-stakes star his pedigree suggests he can be.

Off the watch list

Fresh off a stretch-running win in the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1), More Than Looks has retired from racing and is thus off my watch list. He’ll stand for a stud fee of $15,000 at Lane’s End in 2025.

I’m also going to drop Hurricane Dream and Chez Pierre from my watch list. Hurricane Dream hasn’t started since finishing second in the May 2023 Dinner Party (G3), and he’s only worked once since then, breezing a slow three furlongs on March 30. It’s possible this 7-year-old gelding has been retired from racing.

The same goes for Chez Pierre, who defeated a strong field in the 2023 Maker’s Mark Mile (G1). Unraced since finishing third in the June 2023 Poker (G3), Chez Pierre hasn’t posted a timed workout since July 2023 and may have entered retirement.