Sunday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Barrage capable of better second off the layoff
Belmont at the Big A | Race 9 | Post Time 4:50 p.m. (ET)
Chad Brown obviously holds a strong hand in this allowance finale. The horse to beat is probably Unit Economics (No. 4), who had a tough trip in his debut and has finished in the exacta in his four starts since then. He has been very short prices in all of t. . hose races, so I do think it’s appropriate to wonder if he has that winning instinct after settling for second three times. He got the job done when blinkers were applied two back, winning with a fast TimeformUS Speed Figure, and he validated that form when finishing second to the improving Rebel Red last time. He’s an obvious win candidate, but I thought he was beatable at a short price.
Brown’s other runner Walley World (No. 2) has more upside than his stablemate. He showed talent as a 2-year-old, winning his maiden impressively before finishing second to Sunday’s rival Spirit Prince in the Central Park. He was a little disappointing in one start at Tampa over the winter, but he put in a better effort last time in the Woodhaven. He’s been off since then and has a right to improve again with routine maturity.
There are others who appear to be in good form right now, such as Samburu (No. 3) and Itsallcomintogetha (No. 8). However, Samburu rarely wins and may get overbet with Irad Ortiz Jr. getting back aboard, while Itsallcomintogetha needs to get loose up front if he’s to have his best chance, and there are one or two others in here who can show speed.
My top pick is Barrage (No. 7). This horse might appear to be out of form at first glance, but there are a couple of reasons to expect him to rebound here. He has run his best races when he’s in Ray Handal’s barn, and he got a trainer switch back to this stable prior to his most recent start. I also think he had an excuse for that most recent performance when finishing off the board as the lukewarm favorite. The race was dominated by horses who rode the rail for much of their trips, and Barrage was never inside while racing three wide around both turns. He also had poor cover on the second bend, following a horse who was fading out of contention, which put him in poor position for the stretch drive. He’s better than that and also possesses more early speed. Dylan Davis has ridden him well in the past and reunites with him here.