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.
Entries
Saturday
Santa Anita, race 5: A couple of watch list members are entered to race in the seven-furlong San Vicente (G2) at Santa Anita, which has drawn a small but high-quality field of potential Road to the Kentucky Derby contenders.
One is Barnes, a $3.2 million yearling acquisition who rallied to win his debut sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs at Churchill Downs by a head. The son of six-time leading North American sire Into Mischief raced greenly that day, so he has upside to improve for the red-hot jockey and trainer duo of Juan Hernandez and Bob Baffert.
Baffert has also entered Romanesque, a Del Mar debut winner slated to be ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith. Romanesque won a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight by 2 1/4 lengths and earned a 93 Brisnet Speed rating, higher than the 88 that Barnes posted in his debut.
Defeating runaway Bob Hope (G3) winner Bullard won’t be easy, but Barnes and Romanesque both warrant respect in the San Vicente. With improvement, either could challenge for victory.
Santa Anita, race 7: Eagles Flight, a heralded half-brother to 2022 Horse of the Year Flightline, will make his long-awaited second start in a one-mile $50,000 allowance optional claimer at Santa Anita.
The son of Curlin out of Feathered impressed when debuting in a six-furlong maiden special weight at Santa Anita last May, rallying from seventh place to win by 2 3/4 lengths. He’s trained fast for his return and is adding blinkers, so don’t be surprised if Eagles Flight shows more tactical speed on Saturday.
Gulfstream Park, race 10: Guns Loaded showed promise in two starts as a juvenile. In his debut dashing seven furlongs at Saratoga, he finished second in a maiden special weight despite stumbling start. Then in a six-furlong maiden special weight at Churchill Downs, he led by daylight at every call, setting hot fractions along the way, to score by 2 3/4 lengths.
The latter effort yielded a strong 98 Brisnet Speed rating, suggesting Guns Loaded is the horse to beat while stretching out over one mile for Saturday’s Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream. None of his rivals have run faster on the Brisnet scale and fast workouts in Florida, including a bullet five furlongs in 59.75 seconds, suggest Guns Loaded is sitting on a strong 3-year-old debut.
Oaklawn, race 9: Kale’s Angel impressed in his dirt debut at Oaklawn last month, employing pace-pressing tactics to dominate the 5 1/2-furlong Advent by 5 3/4 lengths in the strong time of 1:04.40 seconds.
Kale’s Angel’s speed may allow him to escape with an easy lead while stretching out over 1 1/16 miles for the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn. Six of the last eight editions of this Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier have been won in gate-to-wire fashion, often by sprinters stretching out in distance, so there’s plenty of precedent for horses like Kale’s Angel to shine in the Smarty Jones.
Sunday
Oaklawn, race 5: Bishops Bay showed talent as a 3-year-old in 2023, finishing second in the Peter Pan (G3) to future champion Arcangelo and second in the Ohio Derby (G3) to Kentucky Derby runner-up Two Phil’s.
Bishops Bay subsequently spent 16 1/2 months on the sidelines before making his lone start as a 4-year-old in a $50,000 allowance optional claimer on Nov. 11 at Horseshoe Indianapolis. His comeback was solid; after settling in third place, he rallied to win easily by two lengths in the respectable time of 1:39.98 seconds.
Now 5 years old, Bishops Bay is taking the next step of his comeback in a $62,500 allowance optional claimer at Oaklawn. He’s the 7-5 morning-line favorite to win the 1 1/16-mile contest, and a victory will likely vault him back to the graded-stakes ranks.
Santa Anita, race 7: Silent Law dominated her first two starts as a juvenile, including the six-furlong Anoakia, before settling for second place by 1 1/4 lengths in the seven-furlong Desi Arnaz.
It’s possible seven furlongs is a little farther than Silent Law wants to run, but we’ll get a better idea when she starts in the seven-furlong Santa Ynez at Santa Anita, a Road to the Kentucky Oaks qualifier awarding 10 qualification points to the winner. She’s getting a rematch with Desi Arnaz winner Practical Dream – who had previously finished second in the Anoakia – so the Santa Ynez is the rubber match.
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