Monday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Romeo has experience edge in Hopeful

Saratoga | Race 9 | Post Time 4:42 p.m. (ET)

All of the 2-year-olds in the Grade 1 Hopeful have something to prove. That includes potential favorite Buetane (#5), who ships in from California for trainer Bob Baffert. I'm not sure what he beat in his debut victory, since Baffert has such a monopoly on the top juveniles out west, and Buetane’s only main rival was one of his stablemates. Yet that barn mate did come back to win, validating the 108 TimeformUS Speed Figure that Buetane received. He has worked well since then, and if he progresses at all he will be a handful.

With so many of these horses stretching out in distance, it's not surprising that the TimeformUS Pace Projector is predicting a fast pace. It often helps to have outside position with these inexperienced horses, allowing the jockeys to keep them out of the kickback. That was the case for Ted Noffey (#8) when he made his debut. He broke from the far outside post that day, and wore down the leaders en route to a convincing victory. John Velazquez should look to pull a similar trip here, but he will have to run a little faster in his second start. Solder N Diplomat (#6), trained by Steve Asmussen, is another who showed the ability to rate just off the pace in his debut. I wanted to see him finish a bit stronger at the end, but he has a right to progress in his second start.

I'm most interested in the other Asmussen runner Romeo (#3), who makes his first start since he was purchased for $1.7 million at auction by new owners. He has run his best races on the front end, but he should benefit from having more foundation than anyone else in this field. He clearly failed to show up in the Tremont two back, but his connections had the confidence to wheel him right back in the Bashford Manor later that month. He came through with an excellent effort, setting an honest pace and finding another gear to pull away late. He strikes me as one who shouldn't have any problems with added ground, and I really like the way he's been training since coming into the Asmussen barn.