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
Friday
Keeneland, race 4: Eclatant is a watch-list winner after taking a six-furlong $100,000 allowance optional claimer at Keeneland. The 2-year-old Brad Cox trainee tracked the pace in second place before taking over to win by 2 1/4 lengths in 1:09.96, bringing her record to 2-for-2.
#6 ECLATANT ($3.06) impresses in the 4th race at @Keeneland. @flothejock and @bradcoxracing team up to keep the juvenile Into Mischief (@spendthriftfarm) filly undefeated for breeders/owners @StonestreetFarm. pic.twitter.com/1WDwPbWhm7
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) October 4, 2024
Belmont at the Big A, race 5: Switching to turf proved to be no obstacle for Mentee, who became a watch-list winner with his pace-pressing 3 1/2-length win in the six-furlong Futurity (G3). He stopped the clock at 1:08.82.
Keeneland, race 6: Montalcino didn’t debut until Sept. 1, when he pressed the pace on his way to victory in a seven-furlong maiden special weight at Saratoga. But the 3-year-old Cherie DeVaux trainee is quickly making up for lost time. He made his second start in a seven-furlong allowance on opening day at Keeneland and led all the way through intense fractions of 21.61, 43.79 and 1:08.07 to win by six lengths in 1:21.56. Montalcino looks like a possible Malibu (G1) contender.
Meanwhile, Air of Defiance is off my watch list after returning from a long layoff with a distant fifth-place finish.
#2 Montalcino is a convincing winner in R6 at Keeneland with a bright future ahead! ??@jose93_ortiz piloted the 3YO colt for trainer @reredevaux!
You can add this guy to your TwinSpires #StableAlerts! ??
?? #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/rT0VyPumWf
— TwinSpires Racing ?? (@TwinSpires) October 4, 2024
Keeneland, race 7: Federal Judge is a watch-list winner thanks to his gate-to-wire, 5 1/2-length romp in the six-furlong Phoenix (G2) at Keeneland. He was full of run even after posting serious early splits of 21.62 and 43.97 seconds, and he reached the finish line in a snappy 1:08.20.
Keeneland, race 8: Destino d’Oro clipped heels shortly after the start of the Jessamine (G2), but launched a big rally from off the pace to finish third by two noses. She’s worth watching again.
Saturday
Keeneland, race 7: Brightwork is new to my watch list despite finishing third as the favorite in the seven-furlong Thoroughbred Club of America (G2), her first defeat from six sprint starts. Last year’s Spinaway (G1) heroine raced wide over a track that seemed strongly biased toward inside runners, so Brightwork is eligible to rebound over a fair track next time.
Keeneland, race 8: Chili Flag is worth watching again after rallying nicely from 11th place to finish second in the Just a Game (G1), beaten two lengths by stablemate Gina Romantica.
Santa Anita, race 3: Nooni put up a good fight in the Oak Leaf (G2), finishing second by 2 1/4 lengths after setting the pace, but after two straight defeats I’ll drop her from my watch list.
Keeneland, race 9: East Avenue brought his record to 2-for-2 and became a watch list winner when he wired the 1 1/16-mile Breeders’ Futurity (G1) by 5 1/4 lengths in the sharp time of 1:43.17 seconds. The Godolphin homebred might be something special.
Hopeful (G1) runner-up Ferocious settled for second in the Breeders’ Futurity and is worth watching again. So too are Handsome Pants and Optical. Handsome Pants finished eighth while stepping up sharply in class off short rest, while Optical ran into early trouble and was pulled up.
Keeneland, race 10: Carl Spackler remains a productive watch-list member. He picked up his second straight Grade 1 win in the Coolmore Turf Mile, leading all the way to score by one length in 1:34.23 seconds.
More Than Looks is worth watching again after launching a huge rally from last place to finish second. He gained 4 1/4 lengths through the final furlong alone and could be an intriguing long-shot contender for the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Santa Anita, race 5: Pilot Commander was much the best in a six-furlong $50,000 allowance optional claimer. In his second start back from a layoff, he pressed quick fractions of 21.83 and 44.06 seconds before taking over to score by 2 3/4 lengths in 1:09.43, becoming a watch-list winner.
In contrast, Vlahos is off my watch list after fading to finish last by 21 lengths, his second straight defeat.
Santa Anita, race 7: Sweet Azteca misfired as the 1-10 favorite in the Chillingworth (G3), fading off splits of 21.76 and 44.10 seconds to finish last out of four, beaten 8 3/4 lengths. This marked a huge regression from her previous form, so I’ll assume something went wrong and give Sweet Azteca a chance to rebound next time.
Santa Anita, race 9: Citizen Bull bounced back from a Del Mar Futurity (G1) defeat to became a watch-list winner in the 1 1/16-mile American Pharoah (G1), leading all the way to prevail by two lengths in 1:44.30.
Getaway Car is worth watching again after gamely chasing Citizen Bull around the track to finish second. I’ll also give another chance to distant third-place finisher McKinzie Street, who could benefit from cutting back in distance.
Sunday
Belmont at the Big A, race 6: Virgin Colada rallied late to finish second in the Miss Grillo (G2) but was beaten 2 1/2 lengths after dropping too far off the early pace. Having lost consecutive races at the stakes level, she’s off my watch list.
Keeneland, race 9: Idiomatic had no trouble winning the 1 1/8-mile Spinster (G1) for the second straight year, leading all the way to beat five rivals by 6 1/2 lengths in 1:49.04. This watch-list winner will have every chance to defend her Breeders’ Cup Distaff title next month.
Santa Anita, race 8: Iron Man Cal became a watch-list winner with the help of the Santa Anita stewards. Iron Man Cal crossed the wire second by a head in the Zuma Beach (G3), but first-past-the-post Artislas was disqualified for drifting out and interfering with Iron Man Cal and third-place finisher Sabertooth, upgrading Iron Man Cal to first place.
Here is my complete, updated list of Horses to Watch.
Photo: Japan National Association of Racing TV The Triple Crown Tracker checks in with the horses who raced in the 2024 Kentucky Derby
Singapore held its final horse race on Saturday, ending 180 years of the sport to make way for more housing. The government is razing about 300 acres of the Sin
According to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority and materials in a U.S. Supreme Court record, the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective
The 2-year-old filly Nermansa was killed training yesterday at Santa Anita. She was made in Ireland and brought here to race. A fine life, huh