Pocono: Horses to watch from Oct. 24 - Oct. 28
Horses to watch from Pocono Downs.
Ken WaltersOct 29, 2015
Horses to watch from Pocono Downs.
Matt Rose's analysis of the Saturday 10/31 card at Yonkers Raceway.
I really like STOPCHARGINGMARIA (4) in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on Friday for a couple reasons. One is she figures to go back to rating off the pace and making one run, and that seems to be her preferred style. She was on the lead in the Personal Ensign and gave way late, but with established speeds in the Distaff, it's hard to believe she will engage in a duel when she's perfectly capable of taking off a potentially quick pace and making a late move.
With the Breeders Crown in the books, the scene is set for the Harrisburg yearling and mixed sales, both of which figure to be well attended and received. There is no shortage of excellent prospects on both gaits, several of which can be considered optimum candidates for the title of “sales topper”.
When the management of Liam’s Map made the decision to duck the $5 million Classic and run instead in the $1 million Dirt Mile on Friday, and then the scratch Thursday of Beholder, the complexion of the main event changed significantly. The field of nine was left with a solitary front-runner: American Pharoah. This development disappoints me as a fan and as a gambler.
Garnet Barnsdale's analysis of the Saturday 10/31 card at Woodbine Harness.
Heritage Stallions in Chesapeake City, Md., will stand two new stallions for the 2016 breeding season, as millionaire racehorses Bourbon Courage and Imagining take up residence, joining Despite the Odds, Seville, Street Magician, and Tritap.
Jeremey Day's analysis of the Saturday 10/31 card at Balmoral Park.
The wet going altered the plans of many horsemen during training hours on Thursday, including those of Bob Baffert, who opted to have AMERICAN PHAROAH spend his first day on the racetrack since his arrival in Kentucky earlier this week galloping over the artificial surface at the training track. And according to Daily Racing Form’s Jay Privman, the Triple Crown champion looked “awesome.”
A one-week delay to his comeback has made for an easier assignment for Daddy D T in Saturday’s $75,000 Let It Ride Stakes at Del Mar.