Race 1 Closer Looks >> Race 2 Spot Play KAMINARI (#2, 6-1) quit after a half mile in an Oct. 30 comeback, but likely needed that race to regain fitness, also raced over a sloppy surface that many horses failed to handle, presumably her, too; capable of better on a fast track. – Byron King   Vulnerable Favorite JARDENIA (#1, 5-2) is five-for-10 on the year, but bear in mind that she has been competitively exclusively in starter allowances; now she’s facing $25,000 claiming opposition and catching some class droppers; also out of action for over two months.– Byron King   Closer Looks >> Race 3 Closer Looks >> Race 4 Closer Looks >> Race 5 Spot Play PEGGY'S A TEN (#4, 5-1) posted a Beyer two back that makes her competitive with these, adn she has been working like she's ready; she disappointed as the odds-on favorite in each of her last two but she was off slowly two back and she was caught up in a duel last time. -Kenny Peck   Closer Looks >> Race 6 Closer Looks >> Race 7 Really interesting race with a lot of ways to go. First, categorization of several horses by preference. Top pick: GOLDEN SABRE. Using: FORMIDABLE HEART, DORSETT, CENTRAL BANKER, WINNING CAUSE Against: RIVER SEVEN, MORO TAP, FRAC DADDY Golden Sabre has quite a bit of appeal – perhaps too much: His 5-1 morning-line odds could wind up something more like 7-2 and it wouldn’t be a surprise. He’s finished first in all three of his grass starts (DQ’d from stakes win) but should enter this late-season contest a fresh horse, with just four runs all year. He has enough speed to have won a fast-paced one-turn mile at Woodbine, but showed a different dimension grinding out a nine-furlong win last out at Woodbine while rallying into a slow pace. The horse he nailed in the final half-furlong, River Seven, had a major tactical edge that day and came back to whip older stakes foes. Golden Sabre’s work pattern between starts looks very solid and, with any luck from an inside draw, he ought to get a favorable setup. Would I be kicking up my heels to play Golden Sabre to win at 7-2 in his first start away from Woodbine? No, not really. But I’d be happy to lean on him in multi-race wagers and to make him a key horse in vertical exotic bets. Let’s discuss race shape: On paper, the early pace projects as at least moderate, and probably slightly faster than that. Ruler of Love and River Seven are drawn side by side, and both do their best work on the front end. A mad dash through a 22-and-change opening quarter-mile seems unlikely, but if both horses break, they should engage into the first turn and lay down fair fractions. The middle pace, with Central Banker getting involved from a very wide draw, should continue on similarly, and I’d guess neither Ruler of Love nor River Seven gets a mid-race breather. Stretchout sprinter Central Banker will be widely dismissed as unlikely to stay the trip, but that might be hasty. The dam’s sire, Go For Gin, should provide a dose of turf-route staying power, and the horse’s lone previous two-turn try came not only on dirt, but over the Delta bullring. Central Banker has as much raw talent as any horse in the field, and has the speed to get position despite his wide draw. Dorsett is working on a two-race string of excuses. His trip behind a dawdling SoCal pace was wide and poor two back, and he floundered through a bog at Hawthorne last out. There are more excuses further back in his form, too, as he moved prematurely in the American Derby. Formidable Heart, like Golden Sabre, is lightly raced and progressive, though he does not appear as talented as Golden Sabre. Turning back from a 12-furlong win at Keeneland he might be hard-pressed to get up in time at this 8.5-furlong distance, but a solid pace over testing November ground would play to his strengths. Winning Cause is a throw-in underneath because of consistency, but he has made more than twice as many starts this year as horses like Formidable Heart and Golden Sabre, appears to prefer synthetics to turf, and is coming back in fairly short order after a peak race. At a shorter price I’d not be heavily involved. - Marcus Hersh   Closer Looks >> Race 8 Spot Play GAMBLER'S GHOST (#11, 5-1) probably has the best work tab of any firster entered anywhere in the country on Saturday; he's wide here but expect him to come out firing for a barn which wins at a strong rate with debut runners. -Kenny Peck   Closer Looks >> Race 9 There is money to be made Saturday on the Grade 2, $175,000 Mrs. Revere at Churchill Downs. A case can be made for just about every one of the 14 fillies in the mile and a sixteenth turf race, and the exercise of picking apart each entrant in order to whittle down the options still leaves five win candidates loosely led by EMOTIONAL KITTEN. EMOTIONAL KITTEN is dropping in class after competing in three consecutive Grade 1 races, a longer run at that level than any of her rivals in the Mrs. Revere. And she ran well against some of her division’s best, as she was beaten a half-length by Emollient when second in the Grade 1 American Oaks in July. (Emollient would go on to win the Grade 1 Spinster at Keeneland and also ran fourth, beaten a length, in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.) Victor Espinoza was aboard EMOTIONAL KITTEN in the American Oaks, and he will be in for the mount in the Mrs. Revere. EMOTIONAL KITTEN also might benefit from the cutback in distance to a mile and a sixteenth, as her last two wins came at the trip. She also could be closer to the pace than she was last out if the fractions are more reasonable here than they were in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland. TAPICAT is the 7-2 morning-line favorite for the Mrs. Revere following a runner-up finish to Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks winner Discreet Marq in the $200,000 Pebbles at Belmont Park. TAPICAT is saddled with post 13, but she has more natural speed than a number of her rivals and on the move from a mile to a mile and a sixteenth there is a chance she could be setting the pace or tracking QUALITY KITTEN and/or I’M ALREADY SEXY. TAPICAT is also one of the most accomplished starters in the Mrs. Revere as a Grade 3 winner, with the victory coming in the Florida Oaks, at this distance back in February. Jockey Mike Smith will travel to town to keep his regular seat aboard TAPICAT. NELLIE CASHMAN’s world changed when she moved to turf in June. She promptly won her maiden then took the Grade 3 Virginia Oaks one start later, at 19-1. NELLIE CASHMAN backed up the performance at Saratoga, by finishing first in the Grade 2 Lake Placid. But she was disqualified and placed third for drifting in a development that does not diminish her turf capabilities. NELLIE CASHMAN returned to action two months later and was second in the Grade 3 Valley View at Keeneland. For the effort, she earned what ranks as this field’s best last-race Beyer Speed Figure. NELLIE CASHMAN would seem to have reason to move forward in her second start back Saturday. EFFIE TRINKET is well-versed in the language of winning, as she boasts a 6-for-10 record. Of her wins, four have come in stakes, including a pair of statebred races in her last two starts in New York. She will be tested for class as she makes a rare appearance in graded company, but tough not to respect the fact that she’s a filly who knows how to win. She also defeated older rivals in her last two starts and brings tactical speed to the table, an asset that might lend itself to an ideal trip tracking TAPICAT, QUALITY KITTEN and I’M ALREADY SEXY. I’M ALREADY SEXY is one of the most accomplished members of the field as a Grade 3 winner, having taken the Pucker Up wire-to-wire at Arlington Park in September. One start later she was close to a hot pace in the Grade 1 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup and based on the performance looking for her to be prominent despite the fact that she is shortening up in distance. A front-running trip might be an advantage in such a large field, keeping her up out of trouble. I’M ALREADY SEXY also has the distinction of being just one of two in the field who can claim a win over the Churchill Downs course. The other is FRIVOLOUS. As for the remainder of the field, each has notable pros and cons. The undefeated QUALITY KITTEN showed talent when one start after winning her debut at six furlongs at Kentucky Downs she handled a mile and a sixteenth on Polytrack at Keeneland. She would seem to have a good deal of upside. The concern is her lack of experience. ZERO GAME won well in her first start on Lasix last out, which was also her first in North America. There are reasons she can move forward Saturday. The concern is she takes a notable step up in class. KEENING figures to benefit if the Mrs. Revere stays on the grass as her one start on turf produced her best Beyer Speed Figure. She moves into new territory as this will be her graded debut. ALLEGHENY ANGEL is one of the best bred runners in the field as a daughter of Medaglia d’Oro and the Grade 1-winning mare Awesome Humor ($848K). She’s shortening up from a mile and a half, and might find herself having to negotiate a good deal of traffic. REMEMBER THEN’s dam was a multiple Grade 2 winner who earned more than $865,000. This one will not race with Lasix. FRIVOLOUS can claim a win over the Churchill turf, but she’s been chasing some of these of late. PRAIA has class appeal as one who is multiple Grade 3-placed, while her dam was a Grade 2 winner. A concern is that there could be traffic issues for late-runner. DANCE AGAIN is a consistent sort, but shortening up from a mile and an eighth win over statebreds could place her farther back in a potential disadvantage in a large field. E B RYDER, a last-out stakes winner, is another late-runner who could possibly encounter traffic troubles. She also drew post 14. The cost of spreading out in the Mrs. Revere is tempered with the prospect of real reward given the balance of the large field. The most solid horses to build around would seem to be EMOTIONAL KITTEN, TAPICAT, NELLIE CASHMAN, EFFIE TRINKET and I’M ALREADY SEXY. - Mary Rampellini   Closer Looks >> Race 10 Closer Looks >>