Futurity favorites Exaggerator, Uncle Vinny unproven going long
When trainers Keith Desormeaux and Todd Pletcher last raced 2-year-olds against one another in a graded stakes, it was the Desormeaux-trained Exaggerator who came out on top, catching the Pletcher-trained favorite, Saratoga Mischief, in the closing yards to win the Grade 2 Saratoga Special on Aug. 16.
On Saturday, the two trainers start horses at a different venue, Keeneland, and this time with even more at stake in the Grade 1, $500,000 Breeders’ Futurity, a Win and You’re In Challenge race for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Oct. 31 at Keeneland.
Desormeaux is back with Exaggerator, while Pletcher comes armed with a different juvenile: Uncle Vinny, the winner of the Grade 3 Sanford by disqualification and later the third-place finisher in the Grade 1 Hopeful.
As the only two graded stakes winners, the race goes through them. The other 10 entrants have shown promise but are not established against the stakes elite.
What neither has done is race two turns, much less 1 1/16 miles, the distance of the Breeders’ Futurity. The longest Exaggerator has raced is 6 1/2 furlongs; for Uncle Vinny, it is seven furlongs.
Exaggerator, the 7-2 morning-line favorite, would appear to be the type to appreciate added ground as a son of Curlin and having finished strongly in two victories from three starts.
An analysis Uncle Vinny’s pedigree is less definitive regarding his ability to stay the distance. His sire, Uncle Mo, was a champion who won the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at 1 1/16 miles, but his dam, Arealhotlover, was strictly a sprinter, albeit a stakes winner.
Like all 1 1/16-mile dirt races at Keeneland, the Breeders’ Futurity will begin and end at what otherwise is the sixteenth pole.
Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity, Race 8
KEY CONTENDERS
Rated R Superstar (Last 3 Beyers: 78-70-70)
◗ Has already raced 1 1/16 miles, something none of his rivals has done, rallying to be second in the quickly run Iroquois Stakes on Sept. 12 at Churchill Downs.
◗ After showing speed in his two preceding races, he changed styles in the Iroquois behind hot early fractions. He fell 10 lengths behind at one point before making a run to reach second leaving the second turn and maintaining that position down the stretch to lose by two lengths.
Exaggerator (Last 3 Beyers: 85-77-53)
◗ Reunited with Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux, the younger brother of the trainer, after Junior Alvarado rode the colt to victory in the Saratoga Special. Kent Desormeaux was up for the colt’s maiden win at Del Mar on July 25.
◗ With an 85 last-race Beyer, he holds an edge of six Beyer points or more over his foes’ career-best figures.
Uncle Vinny (Last 3 Beyers: 74-75-59)
◗ Adds blinkers, which may improve his focus and sharpen his speed, a key to establishing position after having drawn post 12.
◗ The 9-2 second choice on the morning line, he could offer some degree of value if he sticks to that price, being the only horse with Grade 1 experience.