Weekend Warrior for Dec. 28: Picks for W.L. McKnight, Mr. Prospector, Daytona

The final Saturday of 2013 presents a nice variety of graded stakes in the warmer climes of the United States, all for older horses and all with ample depth and intrigue. The Grade 2 McKnight at Calder is a turf marathon; the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector at Gulfstream Park is a dirt sprint; and the Grade 3 Daytona at Santa Anita goes down the hill as a turf sprint.

W.L. McKnight Handicap

This end-of-year fixture got a field of 12 after scratches, but half of them appear to be easy tosses as the race quickly gets distilled to favorites Twlight Eclipse and Slumber, plus a handful of would-be challengers.

One of those fringe players is Vertiformer, who began his career in France and now comes full circle (in a way) when he makes his first start for Christophe Clement, the noted Frenchman who has made quite a living with just this type. A series of sharp workouts at Payson Park suggest the 6-year-old Vertiformer could show a newfound spring in his step, and I will be looking for him to make his presence felt in his return from a layoff of nearly a year – and at a decent price at that.

It hardly needs to be said that Twilight Eclipse is more than able, considering he was the runner-up in back-to-back to Grade 1’s last summer in New York, while no doubt the fashionable pick will be the Juddmonte colorbearer Slumber, an underachiever of sorts but obviously a horse with plenty of ability.

Mr. Prospector Stakes

Clearly a pair of veterans with triple-digit Beyers on their recent form – 5-year-old Star Harbour has gone 100-plus in four of his last eight, and 6-year-old Black Diamond Cat in three of his last five – are major dangers, but it’s Gulfstream-loving (4 for 7) Apriority who gets the nod from this corner after the Dizney homebred recently broke a 12-race losing skein, dating to his nose victory in the Mr. Prospector on Dec. 31, 2011.

The race shape figures to have Star Harbour as the one to catch, with maybe Singanothersong and Black Diamond Cat giving closest chase after breaking from their outer posts. After Singanothersong and Black Diamond Cat clear off, hopefully Apriority will have clear sailing, and from there Joe Bravo can get him into the kind of rhythm that took him to his five-length score five weeks ago.

Travelin Man, third as a surely-needed-the-start favorite behind Apriority in the key Nov. 24 race, is sure to attract his fair share of action as a late-run threat for the ever-popular team of Todd Pletcher and Javier Castellano, but he has to show he can do better.

Daytona Stakes

One of the natural storylines to this well-matched race is the continuing rivalry between Chips All In and Unbridled’s Note, the two likely favorites over a solid supporting cast. I will side here with Chips All In, on the understanding that his being part of the pace (as he was in the Hollywood Turf Express) is not his strength and that Aaron Gryder will do his best to subtly wrangle him back and cover him up before getting him to punch home.

Unbridled’s Note is a real stalwart, as evidenced in part by how well he has been backed in the last two runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint over this course, and he ran extremely well in a narrow defeat as the favorite in the Turf Express.

Beyond those two, perhaps the Cal-bred Ain’t No Other rates the best chance at a mild upset. The open-air outside box can afford him and Rafael Bejarano the right kind of stalk-and-see trip, and no stable was hotter at the Hollywood farewell meet than that of his trainer, Jerry Hollendorfer.