Breeders’ Cup Classic clues should drop Saturday in New York and California – and lord knows we need some. The Saturday turf action at Del Mar holds appeal in theory, but this handicapper found opinions difficult to form. Pacific Classic Here’s a question: Who will be the shorter Pacific Classic price, Defunded or Arabian Knight? Tough call, but the main point is both are going to get bet. Of the two, I strongly prefer Arabian Knight. Defunded is a 5-year-old who’s wholly exposed, doesn’t truly want 1 1/4 miles, and habitually is overbet. Speaking of overbet: Arabian Knight at 11-10 in the Haskell? Madness. The colt was coming off a six-month layoff and wound up getting used too hard when a no-hope longshot set sail on a strong pace and revved up a fresh Arabian Knight. Arabian Knight can improve, but can he avoid getting hooked and cooked on the lead? The Haskell winner, Geaux Rocket Ride, could be favored. Kudos to anyone who backed him at a ridiculously overlaid 12-1 at Monmouth. The price is dropping like a stone as Geaux Rocket Ride tries 1 1/4 miles for the first time. Things worked out beautifully from post 1 last time, but that might not be the case again. Tough choices could lie in front of Mike Smith. This is a very nice colt. It will be surprising if he’s not competitive. :: DRF's 2023 Del Mar headquarters: Previews, past performances, picks, recaps, news, and more. Slow Down Andy is fast enough but won’t get 10 furlongs. Same with the horse who ran him down last time, Senor Buscador. While all the 3-year-old attention is going to Geaux Rocket Ride and Arabian Knight, I’m going to the forgotten 3-year-old, Skinner. Skinner will lose by 12 lengths if he runs back to his Los Alamitos Derby, but we already know the colt can run much faster than that. Seems like trainer John Shirreffs just wanted to get his horse back racing again after he had to be scratched from the Kentucky Derby, and Shirreffs after the Los Al race sent Skinner right to Del Mar, where he has been working very, very well judging from breeze video available online. This colt is bred to get 1 1/4 miles and was training so well going into the Derby that he looked like a legitimate contender. The race flow could work in Skinner’s favor, and there’s little doubt he’s going to be great value. Jockey Club Gold Cup Quick – who was the last St. Louis Derby winner to capture the Jockey Club Gold Cup? Yep, a horse who won last summer at FanDuel Racing is the 9-5 morning-line favorite for a Grade 1 at Saratoga. Granted, Rattle N Roll has progressed very nicely, and he was a fine second behind the capable (and retired) West Will Power while making his Grade 1 debut in the Stephen Foster. The fact that Happy American, a Grade 3-level horse on his best day, was third in the Foster might say something about that spot. If you don’t care for Rattle N Roll as the favorite, what about Proxy as the strong second choice? Best race to best race, Proxy is Rattle N Roll’s superior, but Proxy also is a quirky fellow who runs on his own terms. He won the six-horse Grade 1 Clark from post 1, but the rail is not where this horse wants to be drawn. :: DRF's 2023 Saratoga headquarters: Previews, past performances, picks, recaps, news, and more. Look, Bright Future has all of one race that hints he might be good enough to win this, but that also was his last race, which came over this track surface. From the outside post with little real pace lined up, Bright Future can get the same kind of clean pressing trip as last time. Those allowance horses he thumped frankly aren’t far below what others here have been beating, and Bright Future was drawing clear over nine furlongs like 10 will be his friend. Mint Millions I’m against strong favorite Annapolis coming back on three weeks’ rest after a hard race and trying the tricky Kentucky Downs course for the first time. He beat Churchtown by a head this past May, and Churchtown can turn the tables at several times the price. A handy, nimble horse, Churchtown might handle the course better than Annapolis. He had an impossible trip last time out, and his recent turf work for this was off-the-charts fast. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.