Saturday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Just Katherine can rebound in Comely

Aqueduct | Race 9 | Post Time 3:43 p.m. (ET)

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Raging Sea (#8) showed plenty of promise as a two-year-old, closing to victory in her debut and nearly winning the Grade 1 Alcibiades before placing in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. She figured to be among the top players in the division based on that introduction, but it took her a while to get back to the races this season. She was initially disappointing in a pair of allowance attempts at Saratoga. Yet she seemed to get back on track last time at Keeneland, making a sustained rally to duel with the runner-up before pulling away late. She’s headed in the right direction now as she moves back into stakes company, and the 9-furlong distance is obviously right up her alley. She drew a wide post, but she has the tactical speed to get into decent position, and is arguably the horse to beat.

Defining Purpose (#7) is coming off a good effort over this track when second in the Mother Goose to Xigera last month. While no match for that superior rival, she stayed on well to pick up another graded stakes placing in a season where she has overachieved at the highest levels. However, she’s also gotten some favorable trips and setups when she’s been successful, and now she’s likely to be a shorter price than she has been in recent starts.

Julia Shining (#2) is another who could attract support coming out of the Mother Goose. While she again failed to hit the board in that spot, it was a much better effort than her return in the Alabama. The pace was not in her favor, and she was still trying hard all the way down the lane, finishing fastest of all at the end. She obviously gets the distance, but she needs to continue her progression into this race. I’m also concerned about her lack of early speed in a race that doesn’t feature a ton of pace.

My top pick is Just Katherine (#4). It took this daughter of Justify a while to fully come around, but she announced her improved form with a deceptively strong third-place finish in a tough allowance race back June. She then put a scare into future Grade 1 winner Randomized in the Wilton, the only horse to rally into a slow pace that day. She followed that up with a victory over today’s rival Raging Sea going this distance at Saratoga, earning a strong 113 TimeformUS Speed Figure. The connections took a shot at the Grade 1 level in the Cotillion just 19 days later, but she just didn't appear to handle the sloppy going. She’s now had some time to regroup since then, and is likely to do better in another stakes on her home circuit. She has a versatile running style, which should allow her to work out a trip in a race that features a murky pace scenario.