Photo:

Ben Breland / Eclipse Sportswire

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

Thursday

Churchill Downs, race 9. Admiral Dennis didn’t get a clean trip when finishing third by two lengths in his debut sprinting at Churchill Downs. An unencumbered journey while stretching out for a one-mile maiden special weight on Thursday made all the difference, as the Brad Cox-trained juvenile beat eight rivals in decisive fashion.

Admiral Dennis sat in third place behind splits of 22.92 and 46.32 seconds before advancing to lead through six furlongs in 1:11.30. From there, the race was over, as Admiral Dennis clocked his final two furlongs in strong fractions of 12.20 and 12.37 seconds to draw off and win by 3 1/2 lengths in the sharp time of 1:35.87.

A son of Constitution out of the Union Rags mare Gulf Coast, Admiral Dennis looks like a road to the Kentucky Derby contender in the making.

Entries

Friday

Delta Downs, race 8. Touchuponastar has been practically unstoppable against Louisiana-bred foes, winning an abundance of stakes. But the 5-year-old gelding also is a capable competitor against non-state-restricted company, winning the 2023 Delta Mile and finishing second in the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic and two editions of the Steve Sexton Mile (G3).

Touchuponastar is undefeated in five starts at Delta Downs and should be tough to beat while returning from a layoff to defend his Delta Mile title. A couple of recent bullet workouts indicate this speedy stakes star has a strong chance to bring his lifetime tally to 13 wins from 18 starts.

Saturday

Woodbine, race 9. It was more than a little surprising to see Paramount Prince finish last of five in the Durham Cup (G3) on Tapeta at Woodbine last month. The 4-year-old gelding hadn’t missed the trifecta in nine previous starts over the Woodbine Tapeta, including a victory in the 2023 King’s Plate. Furthermore, he entered the Durham Cup in hot form, having wired the Dominion Day (G3) and Seagram Cup (G2) at Woodbine by daylight margins.

So what went wrong in the Durham Cup? Maybe Paramount Prince was compromised by setting the pace on a day when not a single horse managed to win in gate-to-wire fashion on Tapeta. Or maybe he had an off day. In any case, the Mark Casse trainee is the 7-2 morning line favorite to bounce back while sticking to the Woodbine Tapeta for the Autumn (G2). I’m optimistic he’ll shrug off his last-out disappointment and get back to the winner’s circle.

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