Photo:

Dom Napolitano / NYRA

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

Thursday

Horseshoe Indianapolis, race 7. Rain is in the forecast for Thursday at Horseshoe Indianapolis. If this five-furlong grass allowance for fillies and mares gets rained off the turf, main-track-only entrant Royal Slipper will make her long-awaited return. The Wesley Ward-trained daughter of Uncle Mo wired her debut sprinting six furlongs at Keeneland but hasn’t started since finishing third against future Grade 2 winner Nothing Like You in the Desi Arnaz last November. If she can recapture the form of her debut, Royal Slipper might yet develop into a stakes-caliber filly.

Friday

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. The morning-line favorite to win is Scottish Lassie, who obliterated the Frizette (G1) at Belmont at the Big A last month by nine lengths. That runaway victory yielded a 90 Beyer Speed Figure from Daily Racing Form, the highest number in the Juvenile Fillies field. The Frizette has produced seven of the last 13 Juvenile Fillies winners, and Scottish Lassie has every chance to extend that hot streak.

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Five watch-list members are slated to start in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, including morning-line favorite East Avenue, whose 2-for-2 record includes a 5 1/4-length drubbing of the Breeders’ Futurity (G1). I’m curious to see whether East Avenue can repeat that powerful performance in the Juvenile, given that he benefited from an inside-favoring track in the Breeders’ Futurity.

American Pharoah (G1) winner Citizen Bull is improving for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and has every chance to turn the tables on stablemate Gaming, who defeated Citizen Bull when they ran 1-3 in the Del Mar Futurity (G1) during the summer.

Best Pal (G3) winner Getaway Car, who finished fourth in the Del Mar Futurity and second in the American Pharoah, has early speed and figures to pressure East Avenue while breaking from post 2.
One win contender who might start at odds a bit higher than warranted is Ferocious, a flashy debut winner at Saratoga who has since finished second in the Hopeful (G1) and Breeders’ Futurity. The $1.3 million auction acquisition fits well at this level and needs only a small step forward to challenge for victory.

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. According to the morning-line odds, New Century is the horse to beat here. The British youngster impressed when making his North American debut in the Summer (G1) at Woodbine, surging after a slow start to prevail by 1 1/4 lengths in the fast time of 1:32.80. A similar performance at Del Mar should place New Century right in contention down the homestretch.

Iron Man Cal is going to be a long shot in the Juvenile Turf, but it’s hard to knock his performances to date. After finishing fourth in his debut sprinting, the Phil D’Amato trainee stretched out over one mile to trounce a Del Mar maiden special weight by 2 1/2 lengths. He subsequently won Santa Anita’s one-mile Zuma Beach (G3) via disqualification, so technically Iron Man Cal is 2-for-2 over the Juvenile Turf distance.

Rounding out my trio of Juvenile Turf contenders is Mentee. The speedy son of City of Light made his grass debut in the six-furlong Futurity (G3) and pressed the pace on his way to victory by 3 1/2 lengths. He has the pedigree to stretch out over one mile and could be a dangerous pace threat in the Juvenile Turf.

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