Sunday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Fancy Feline gets better pace setup

Belmont | Race 7 | Post Time 4:08 p.m. (ET)

TimeformUS PPs are now available on DRF.com. Go to PPs

This New York-bred allowance affair is one of the most wide open races on the entire card. It’s hard to know exactly where the public will land, though Miss Stones (#3) does figure to attract some support off her dominant maiden score last month. She had been rumored to be a good one prior to that race, and delivered on the hype, drawing off to an impressive victory. However, the waters get much deeper as she steps up against winners, and she finds herself in a race that features plenty of other speed.

The TimeformUS Pace Projector is predicting a fast pace, with the aforementioned filly getting early pressure from Fancy Joke (#2) and Try It Again (#9), as well as potentially others who also want to be forwardly placed. I’d be more interested in some rivals who can rally from just off the speed.

Luna’s Song (#8) makes some sense as she returns from a layoff for Brad Cox. She wasn’t meeting the toughest field of maidens in that Oct. 6 off the turf affair last year. Yet I thought she handled the dirt nicely, pulling away with authority through the final furlong. She’s missed plenty of time since then, but Brad Cox can have one ready off the layoff and she can certainly factor here with routine improvement.

My top pick is Fancy Feline (#10). Notably, she’s the horse with the LP flag (highest Late Pace Rating) on the Pace Projector, which is significant in a race that is predicted to feature a fast pace. I thought she had a legitimate excuse two back when she got steadied and shuffled back around the turn after trying to show improved speed. Then last time she was the only horse making up ground in a race otherwise dominated up front. I expect her to get a more favorable setup here as she picks up Joel Rosario.