Wednesday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Breslau can bounce back from disappointing effort
Aqueduct | Race 1 | Post Time 12:40 p.m. (ET)
Forgiving Spirit (#1) is arguably the horse to beat in his current form. He's finished in the exacta in his last three starts and was thriving after getting claimed by Rudy Rodriguez last fall. He is coming into this race off a minor layoff, but that may have been partly due to Rodriguez's suspension into early January. His tactical speed should ensure that he works out a good trip in a race that doesn't feature an abundance of pace, yet I do think that this is a minor step up in class for him.
The speed of this field appears to be Ravin's Ransom (#7), who has won 4 of his last 5 starts and now makes his first start off the claim for Linda Rice. He's another who has primarily been facing weaker company out of town, but his gate speed should allow him to control this race up front, as the TimeformUS Pace Projector suggests. I also think he ran a bit better than it appears last time when he put away a couple of early pace rivals in a dominant performance.
I'm not convinced that Tuskegee Airmen (#2) will get the setup he needs, as he seems like one of the most pace-dependent contenders in this field. However, he's another who comes into the race in excellent form, having just won a race off the claim for JKX Racing at Parx. This owner can be dangerous when shipping to New York, and the horse appears to be working well here under the guidance of Chad Summers.
My top pick is Breslau (#3), who won a starter allowance against what was arguably a tougher field than this two back in mid-October. That 108 TimeformUS Speed Figure would make him a deserving favorite if you could be sure that he would repeat it here. However, he did disappoint when last seen moving up into a high-level allowance last time out. He reportedly came out of that race with a minor issue, and he now has a chance to rebound after a couple of months on the sidelines. He has plenty of prior form for former connections that puts him squarely in the mix, and his tactical speed should suit this race flow.