Jerardi: Penn Mile field extremely hard to separate

In the first two editions of the Penn Mile, there were pretty clear standouts. Not so this year.

It is an evenly matched group, with no Beyer Speed Figures of 90 or more but mid- to high 80s all over the place.

Papacoolpapacool is 3 for 3 on grass in 2015, with Beyers of 83, 87, and 87, the kinds of numbers that are likely to win this race. He should get a solid trip from the inside and is most likely to duplicate his numbers.

Woodwin W has not lost in four starts and keeps running faster with each race, three on grass. His last three Beyers – 76, 82, and 85 – make him very competitive.

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Comanche’s Storm brings last-out Beyers of 88 and 86, but the whole race looks just like that. Night Prowler got a career-best 86 in winning a stakes at Keeneland. High Noon Rider’s last two Beyers are 82 and 85. Force the Pass was just behind Woodwin W in the James Murphy Stakes on Preakness Day and has four Beyers of 79, 81, 83, and 83.

Grass races generally are closer than dirt races because the slower pace keeps more horses in the race. This could be a many-horse photo.

Ocho Ocho Ocho is the biggest mystery, with a terrific 2-year-old season, a decent effort in the Blue Grass Stakes, and a solid try in the Kentucky Derby clouded by distance limitations. But the colt has not been on grass, and this is no easy spot to find out if he likes it, given how many proven grass horses will be in the starting gate. His dam ran just three times, all in dirt sprints for the Phipps Stable.

Two wonderful grass sprints will go off within 90 minutes of each other, the Governor’s Cup at Penn National and then the Evangeline Downs Turf Sprint. Put all these horses in the same gate, and we have the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint.

The incredible 9-year-old Ben’s Cat will go for win No. 30 at Penn National. His 101 Beyer in the Turf Sprint at Pimlico the day before the Preakness was his best grass Beyer in nearly three years, so the old boy still has it.

It looks like there is enough early heat to make the very fast Bold Thunder have to run hard to clear the field. Still, Bold Thunder is dangerous. At Pimlico, he ducked out badly late, which opened the door for Ben’s Cat. And if Ben’s Cat sees an open door, he runs through it to the wire.

A little-known fact on Ben’s Cat: He is better on dirt. He has won the November six-furlong dirt stakes at Penn the last four years, with Beyers of 100, 103, and 104 the last three years.

Amelia’s Wild Ride has some very competitive grass-sprint Beyers, with a 97 and 98 this year at Gulfstream Park. The others have no grass form and/or no competitive grass numbers.

At Evangeline Downs, Heitai is the local hero and defending champ. He got a 98 Beyer in his romp last year. He was badly beaten by Power Alert in the Twin Spires Turf Sprint at Churchill, but Power Alert is skipping this race, and Heitai, the Louisiana-bred version of Ben’s Cat, is way better than that as he goes for career win No. 15.

On his best day, Gantry, with a 101 Beyer in a 2014 grass sprint, is dangerous, but he has not come back to that number in 14 months.

The Mountainview Handicap is the third leg of a terrific all-stakes pick four at Penn National. Half the field is fast enough to win off a career-best Beyer, but recent form is hard to decipher.

Golden Lad ran into a really strong field in the Oaklawn Handicap, so his fourth and 97 Beyer were better than they look. His 102 when winning the Essex Handicap might be good enough in this spot.

Albano has been consistently fast for a year now, with all 90s and a 101 in the Pegasus, but has only one win to show for it, mostly because of competition like Bayern in last year’s Haskell Invitational. He was good enough to finish just in front of Moreno in the New Orleans Handicap before Moreno won the Charles Town Classic.

Cousin Stephen is very consistent, with 97, 99, and 97 Beyers in his last three starts, and is the most likely horse in the race to fire his best. His best, however, might not be quite good enough.

Farhaan got a 106 Beyer at Saratoga last summer, but that may have been a one-shot deal. East Hall got very good late last year but then ran into some really good horses this year in Florida. Kid Cruz is running the same numbers he did when winning stakes for 3-year-olds, numbers that are no longer good enough.