Key contenders for Breeders' Cup Juvenile

Exaggerator (Last 3 Beyers: 86-85-77)
• Ran like a horse in need of a race when second, beaten a length, by Brody’s Cause in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity here Oct. 3, his first start in seven weeks.
• Had gotten sick shortly after winning the Grade 2 Saratoga Special in August, throwing off his training schedule leading up to the Futurity.
• After a so-so work by himself here Oct. 17, he worked a bullet five furlongs in 59.60 seconds over this track last weekend.

Greenpointcrusader (Last 3 Beyers: 94-82-80)
• After two solid races at Saratoga, he put in a breakthrough performance in the Grade 1 Champagne, winning by 4 1/2 lengths over a sloppy track.
• Has trained exceptionally well over Keeneland’s main track, including a best-of-39 half-mile move in 46.20 seconds Oct. 23.
• Has broken poorly in his last two starts. If he breaks cleanly Saturday, expect him to be laying third or fourth behind Nyquist and Riker.

Brody’s Cause (Last 3 Beyers: 88-74-10)
• Throw out his turf debut, where he finished a well-beaten eighth, and he almost looks like the horse to beat in this wide-open affair.
• Rallied from last to win a maiden race going a one-turn mile at Churchill, a race from which runner-up Conquest Big E came back to win.
• Made an eye-catching move when rallying from next-to-last to win the Grade 1 Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland on Oct. 3.
• Biggest concern is the seeming lack of early pace in this field.

Unbridled Outlaw (Last 3 Beyers; 77-71-73)
• A son of 1995 Juvenile winner Unbridled’s Song, this colt had a brutal trip when finishing third in the Grade 3 Iroquois at Churchill on Sept. 12. That race came seven weeks after he overcame trouble to win a maiden race over next-out winner Rated R Superstar in a six-furlong race at Ellis Park.
• Mike Smith, the winningest jockey in Breeders’ Cup history, has picked up the mount.

Cocked and Loaded (Last 3 Beyers: 82-61-68)
• Made an early move to the front but sustained it in winning the Grade 3 Iroquois at Churchill Downs, his first start beyond seven furlongs and his first around two turns.
• Got to Keeneland in time to get three works over the track.

Nyquist (Last 3 Beyers: 79-82-89)
• Undefeated in four starts, with victories in the Del Mar Futurity and the FrontRunner Stakes, the only Grade 1 races in the division run thus far on the West Coast.
• Trainer Doug O’Neill said he ran him in those two races 19 days apart in order to run the horse around two turns over his home track. O’Neill believes the five weeks between the FrontRunner and this race have gone well.
• He likely will use his speed from post 13 to obtain a forward position in a field lacking significant pace.