Wednesday TimeformUS Highlight Horse: John’s Call distance no problem for British Royalty
Saratoga | Race 7 | Post Time 4:34 p.m. (ET)
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Morning-line favorite Pioneering Spirit (#4) is seeking his fifth consecutive victory in the John’s Call, while progressively stretching out in distance. The way he has finished his races, registering each win by growing margins, would suggest that 1 5/8 miles might be within his scope. However, he is getting a significant class test as he tries stakes company for the first time. He has benefited from a fast pace in recent starts, and it’s unclear how quickly the leaders will go as they all tackle this demanding distance. Furthermore, his recent TimeformUS Race Ratings, measuring the strength of his competition, range from 87 up to 115. The preliminary Race Rating for this John’s Call is 120, so it’s a steep class hike. I believe the value lies elsewhere this time.
Sy Dog (#8) has some questions to answer as he stretches out to a marathon distance for the first time. He showed talent as a younger horse, but has been slow to get back on track since returning as a 4-year-old this season. He’s bred to go this far as a son of the longwinded Slumber, but has to prove he can do it on the racetrack.
Burning Bright (#3) is perhaps a little more intriguing as he also stretches out to this distance for the first time. He’s settled for second in both turf starts so far this year, but has faced talented rivals. The form of that May 5 event at Churchill has proven to be strong, and I’m intrigued by him tackling added ground as a son of a Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner. The main drawback is that he may have to contest the front end with Tide of the Sea (#7), another runner who is capable on his best day despite having not won a race in quite some time.
My top pick is British Royalty (#5). Distance is no concern for this son of English Channel, who has twice placed in the two-mile Belmont Gold Cup. He’s another who hasn’t won recently, but he’s held his own against some solid competition over marathon distances. He lost by only two lengths to classy individuals Channel Maker and Soldier Rising last summer before going off form later in the year. Yet he appeared to get back on track last time off the layoff, earning a career-best 119 TimeformUS Speed Figure for his third-place finish to classy international competitor Siskany. He’s surely fit off that two-mile run and figures to be a fair price going out for Woodbine-based connections.