Friday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: My Mitole can get the jump on main rival McAfee
Aqueduct | Race 6 | Post Time 3:34 p.m. (ET)
McAfee (#8) would have been one of the favorites in last month’s Jerome if he hadn’t developed a leg infection that forced him out of the race, and DRF’s David Grening reports he is still under consideration for the Wood Memorial. First he must prove he’s worthy by winning this starter-allowance race on Friday. Expectations are high for this colt partly due to his pedigree, being a half-brother to 2024 Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna. Yet he justified some of the hype by winning his debut with an impressive rally. He was narrowly defeated in his second start when stretched out to a mile at Churchill, but he was arguably best after getting put in tight quarters along the rail. A repeat of that 100 TimeformUS Speed Figure should be good enough to beat this group, but he’s only gotten in two workouts since his setback, and he lands in a race that doesn’t feature much early pace.
The TimeformUS Pace Projector is predicting a scenario favoring front-runners, and that may give the advantage to My Mitole (#1). This colt doesn’t need the lead to be successful, as he proved last time when breaking his maiden following a stalking trip. Yet he does figure to get an aggressive ride from the rail here with so little other speed drawn to his outside. The only horse who looks quick enough to apply any pressure early is Brave Bear (#5), but that one has lacked his typical early speed in his last two starts and sometimes struggles to get out of the gate.
My Mitole showed talent in his debut before catching a very tough field second time out. That June 15 affair has been a key race, from which Mentee went on to win the Grade 3 Futurity and runner-up Colloquial recently returned to achieve a 118 TimeformUS Speed Figure. My Mitole stretched out to a mile when he returned from a layoff last November. He is bred on his dam’s side to appreciate added distance, and he showed some stamina to maintain his advantage through the stretch that day. He also still has room for improvement since he never changed leads in that victory. He’s been given plenty of time since then, and now steps up against winners while getting Lasix. I’m expecting another step forward, and he’s unlikely to be favored given the presence of McAfee.