Photo:

Max Sharp / Eclipse Sportswire

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

Wednesday

Churchill Downs, race 7: The widely hyped $3.2 million yearling acquisition Barnes is new to my watch list after making a successful debut in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight at Churchill. The 2-year-old son of Into Mischief rated behind the leader through splits of 21.90 and 44.73 seconds, then raced greenly down the homestretch, drifting out and changing leads at the wrong time. But he nevertheless got up to beat the pacesetter by a head in the sharp time of 1:02.97. With experience, this Bob Baffert trainee may develop into a Road to the Kentucky Derby contender.

Thursday

Fair Grounds, race 9: Montalcino ran a strong race when making his stakes debut in the six-furlong Thanksgiving Classic. After opening up a two-length lead through fast fractions of 21.83 and 44.65 seconds, Montalcino led gamely to finish second by a head against graded stakes winner and reigning Thanksgiving Classic winner Miles Ahead. The final time was a strong 1:09.03, so this is an effort Montalcino can build upon. He’s worth watching again.

Entries

Friday

Del Mar, race 8: Accuracy was miles the best in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Santa Anita last month, leading all the way to trounce her rivals by 15 lengths in the fast time of 1:42.44. That effort yielded a powerful 107 Beyer Speed Figure from Daily Racing Form.

Accuracy will seek to keep her momentum going in a one-mile $40,000 allowance optional claimer at Del Mar. She’s facing only four rivals, and anything close to a repeat of her maiden win should send the daughter of Arrogate straight back to the winner’s circle.

Saturday

Gulfstream Park, race 6: Stunner has competed with aplomb on the New York Racing Association circuit. Her last two starts, both at Aqueduct, have yielded a 6 1/4-length maiden win and a 3 1/2-length drubbing in the Tempted.

Now Stunner is facing fellow Florida-breds in the 1 1/16-mile FTBOA Florida Sire My Dear Girl, which will mark her two-turn debut. Squaring off against state-restricted competition should make Stunner tough to beat for high-percentage trainer Brad Cox, who has gone 9-for-32 (28 percent) saddling dirt horses at Gulfstream since 2019.

Churchill Downs, race 7: Juddmonte homebred Disco Time impressed when debuting in a seven-furlong maiden special weight at Churchill Downs. The Cox trainee pressed the early pace, then took over to prevail by 3 3/4 lengths.

The 2-year-old son of Not This Time will take his next step up the class ladder in a one-mile $100,000 allowance optional claimer at Churchill Downs. Stretching out over a one-turn mile shouldn’t trouble Disco Time, who is favored at 8-5 on the morning line to defeat eight rivals. If he wins as expected, a foray on the Road to the Kentucky Derby is surely in his future.

Gulfstream Park, race 10: According to Beyer Speed Figures, Rated by Merit is the fastest juvenile in the country. He owns three of the 13 highest numbers posted by 2-year-olds this year, including the top-ranked 99 he delivered when wiring the seven-furlong FTBOA Florida Sire Affirmed at Gulfstream last month.

Rated by Merit will make his route debut in the 1 1/16-mile FTBOA Florida Sire In Reality. He’s easily the fastest entrant on paper, hence his ranking as the 3-5 morning line favorite.

Churchill Downs, race 9: Cox’s deep stable is well-armed in the Golden Rod (G2), a 1 1/16-mile Road to the Kentucky Oaks qualifier that has produced each of the last three Kentucky Oaks (G1) winners. Indeed, Cox has a chance to run 1-2 with Good Cheer and Eclatant.

Godolphin homebred Good Cheer is unbeaten and unchallenged in three starts. She made her Road to the Kentucky Oaks debut in the 1 1/16-mile Rags to Riches at Churchill last month, winning by 4 3/4 lengths. The beautifully bred daughter of Medaglia d’Oro out of Wedding Toast is the 4-5 morning-line favorite to keep her unbeaten record intact in the Golden Rod.

But Eclatant is a promising challenger. The daughter of Into Mischief is 2-for-2. She won her June debut over future graded-stakes winner La Cara and recently returned from a summer layoff to win a $100,000 allowance optional claimer dashing six furlongs at Keeneland. Eclatant has the pedigree to stretch out over 1 1/16 miles and appears to have a bright future.

Sunday

Churchill Downs, race 4: Booth isn’t the most consistent horse in training, but on his best day he’s quite good. He wired his November 2023 debut at Keeneland by 5 1/4 lengths over future stakes winner Nash, and in February he trounced a $100,000 allowance optional claimer at Oaklawn by 4 1/4 lengths.

Booth disappeared from the work tab following a fifth-place finish in the April 5 Lafayette at Keeneland and hasn’t raced since. But sharp workouts, including a bullet five furlongs from the Churchill Downs starting gate in 59.80 seconds, suggest this Steve Asmussen-trained 3-year-old will fire a competitive shot while returning to action in a 6 1/2-furlong $125,000 allowance optional claimer at Churchill Downs.