Photo:

Ben Breland / 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

Sunday

Fair Grounds, race 6: Remember Hall of Fame? The Steve Asmussen trainee burst into the headlines as a 3-year-old in 2024 when he dominated a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Fair Grounds by 10 1/4 lengths.

Hall of Fame looked like a Kentucky Derby contender in the making, but after finishing seventh in a deep edition of the Risen Star (G2) and 10th in the Louisiana Derby (G2), he disappeared from the work tab and didn’t record a timed exercise for five months.

But guess what? Hall of Fame is back, and seemingly better than ever. He ended a long layoff in a one-mile allowance on Dec. 1 at Churchill Downs, in which he tracked and pressed increasingly stiff fractions of 22.51, 44.56 and 1:08.58 before finishing up nicely to win by two lengths in 1:33.79, only 0.53 seconds off the 10-year-old track record.

Hall of Fame then kicked off his 4-year-old campaign on a high note in a 1 1/16-mile $50,000 allowance optional claimer at Fair Grounds last Sunday. Setting fractions of 24.19, 47.59 and 1:12.46, respectable for Fair Grounds, left Hall of Fame with plenty in the tank to draw clear and dominate by 6 1/2 lengths.

Hall of Fame reached the finish line in 1:43.94 over a good, sealed track, earning a 103 Beyer Speed Figure from Daily Racing Form that improved upon the 92 he posted in his Churchill Downs comeback. Hall of Fame looks ready to rejoin the graded stakes ranks and make some serious noise this winter, so I’m adding him to my watch list.

Entries

Saturday

Tampa Bay Downs, race 4: Owen Almighty ranked among the better 2-year-old males to compete in 2024, even though his season ended prematurely.

Owen Almighty debuted back in June in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight at Churchill Downs, where he tracked the pace on his way to a 3 1/2-length victory. He was even more impressive when stepping up in class for the seven-furlong Ellis Park Juvenile at Ellis Park, pressing an honest pace before drawing clear in the final furlong to score by 4 3/4 lengths.

Technically, Owen Almighty faltered when stepping up to one mile for his graded stakes debut in the Iroquois (G3) at Churchill Downs. But he still ran well, finishing second by 2 3/4 lengths against Jonathan’s Way, who went on to compete in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and finish second in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2).

According to Bloodhorse.com, a gastrointestinal infection brought an end to Owen Almighty’s juvenile campaign. But he’s been back on the work tab since Nov. 30 and has turned in six timed exercises in advance of Saturday’s seven-furlong Pasco at Tampa Bay Downs. Owen Almighty capped off his workout regimen with a swift half-mile from the Palm Meadows starting gate in 47.6 seconds, so expect this son of Speightstown to fire a competitive shot in his 3-year-old debut.

2025 Watch List Record

In 2025, horses on my watch list have recorded 7 starts, 2 wins, 3 seconds, and 2 thirds for a 29 percent win rate and a 100 percent in-the-money rate.