It is fascinating to watch the great trainers get their horses ready for the biggest race of their lives in the Oct. 31 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. Last week, it was Richard Mandella winning an exhibition race with Beholder, whose 99 Beyer Speed Figure meant absolutely nothing. On Saturday, it is Shug McGaughey’s call to pass up the $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont to run Honor Code in the $400,000 Kelso Handicap on the same day there, a race against lesser competition at a less-taxing distance. I love it all. Everything is going to be on the line at Keeneland. No reason to show their best cards until all the money is in the pot. If you put a line through Honor Code’s Alysheba Stakes effort at Churchill Downs the day before the Kentucky Derby – and I think you should – the brilliantly bred 4-year-old has been flawless in 2015, with four wins and Beyers of 106, 104, 112, and 113. It is fair to say that Honor Code has had the benefit of hot paces in front of him, but the horse should get a similar pace in the Classic. I doubt you are going to see Honor Code at his best in the Kelso, but he does not have to be at his best to win. Red Vine appears to be the only horse with the Beyers to challenge Honor Code, if he can run back to those terrific efforts this summer at Monmouth Park, where he backed up a 106 with a 105. Watch how Honor Code runs more than how fast he runs. This race is about one thing – the next race. If Honor Code were to run in the Jockey Club Gold Cup, he would have to run hard to win. Wicked Strong, Coach Inge, Constitution, Effinex, and Tonalist have a combined 26 triple-digit Beyers. Once Tonalist established his level of performance in the 2014 Peter Pan Stakes, the colt has never run a poor race. His Beyers over the last 17 months are 104, 100, 98, 98, 106, 105, 111, 105, 107, and 110, all in Grade 1 or Grade 2 races. Tonalist might not win the Jockey Club Gold Cup, but he is absolutely the horse to beat. The pace is going to be interesting because the Todd Pletcher-trained pair of Coach Inge and Constitution appear to be the only speed horses. If one of them clears, that horse could be dangerous. Wicked Strong is a bit of an outlier as a horse with eight triple-digit Beyers and just three wins. Effinex has four consecutive triple-digit Beyers (not counting the Brooklyn Handicap three starts back, when he was pulled up) but has a running style similar to stablemate Wicked Strong’s. Not quite sure what to make of the Champagne, also at Belmont on Saturday, or the 2-year-old males in general. Nyquist keeps winning and keeps running slower. He looks like a strong bet-against in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Nyquist’s Doug O’Neill-trained stablemate Ralis blew up in the Hopeful with a 16-Beyer-point increase from 77 when second in the Graduation to a 93 when a runaway winner at Saratoga. If he runs back to that 93, he wins the Champagne. If not Ralis, just about anything is possible. Tale of S’avall was extremely impressive in his lone start, a maiden win at Saratoga when he got an 83 Beyer. The colt ran that day like there was more there. This would be the time to show it. Exaggerator is the kind of improving 2-year-old whom I may like in the Breeders’ Cup. His Beyers have gone from 53 to 77 to 85 in his impressive Saratoga Special win. If he goes forward just a bit, he is going to win the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland on Saturday and be a major threat to win the Juvenile on the same track a month later. This Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland on Saturday is not likely to give up the winner of the BC Mile, given that the best Beyer in the field is just a 105 and the horses in the race have not shown a lot of consistency. I did not particularly like The Pizza Man in the Arlington Million, but you have to love what this amazing horse did while winning with a relentless run to the wire, earning a career-best 103 Beyer. That he beat Big Blue Kitten looks even better after that horse set a course record last Saturday at Belmont Park.