The Breeders Cup is days away and the races look like they’re going to be promising ones. All of these races to be very competitive and especially the Classic. But right now I’d like to talk about some other Breeders Cup races, and we can talk about the Classic later on.

                 Let’s start off with the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. I like a few horses in here, but I know that the stand out horse will be Winter Memories. She has a great shot at winning this race. She’s coming off of a really good race in the Miss Grillo stakes At Belmont. With saying that, I still think you can stand against her. There are some unproven horses in here that may be peaking for this race. There are a few horses that have been racing evenly but not great, but that’s the thing with these two year olds, they’re still figuring out how to race. There are a lot of horses that you can use some exotics on in here. One horse who I think has a shot at winning this race is Allure D amoure. She has not won a Turf yet , but she won last time out racing on the Dirt. A lot of the reason why I like this horse in here is because of her pedigree. Her pedigree is a good one to look at. Her sire is Giants Causeway who has produced both Dirt and turf horses and one of the Turf horses being Cowboy Cal. Her Dam is by Danehill Dancer who has had produced some very solid horses. I like how Wyomia has raced down at Woodbine. She won a stakes last time out and hasn`t done anything wrong. Also a horse who looks likek they could run a good race is New Normal who has raced down at Woodbine as well.

                     I think that the horse who I think will win is New Normal though. She race dynamite in her last few starts and has Todd Pletcher training.

            After the Triple Crown season ends and the three olds get a bit of a rest, you then start to wonder, which ones the best? Well first off lets start off with Super Saver, the Kentucky Derby winner. The Derby to me was a fantastic race, but I do think that the race was set up for him better than any other horse in the race. He had a win over the mud, he won on the Churchill Downs track, and plus he was fresh off of two very solid efforts, and he had the perfect running style for the race. I think that things don’t need to set up for him, I think he is a talented race horse and I think he will be touch this summer. 

               Now lets look at the unlucky “Lookin At Lucky”. He is a horse that always runs good no matter what kind of trips you throw at him. To me he has always run good races. Theres not one race where I was disappointed in him. His first start this year he had a troubled trip, but he still won. In the Santa Anita Derby he got pinned down on the rail and was pulled up for about 5 jumps and finished third. In the Derby he got pinned down on the inside again then was taken back, but then Stately Victor came and slammed him in again, and his race was over, but he still managed a solid 6th in that race. He went on to win the Preakness and finally got a great trip. He moved outside of horses and will probably will be making his move outside of horses from now on, even if there pretty wide.

                DrosselMeyer the Belmont winner. Even though the race was pretty slow I thought that it was a very good race, and I think DrosselMeyer is going to be a touch competitor this summer in the Haskell and Travers.

3. Drosselmeyer- This horse has never finished worse than 4th, and since his 4th place finish in the Risen Star Stakes, he has improved every race. He finished 3rd in the Louisiana Derby, and he was 2nd in to Fly Down in the Dwyer Stakes at Belmont Park.The Belmont Distance doesn’t look like a problem for him, and two races over the track certainly gives this horse a strong edge, both races he finished 2nd. I think this horse could be improving, and I think that The Belmont is a good sport for him.

2. Make Music For Me- I think this horse has a really legitimate shot in the Belmont. He raced super in the Derby, and he has already proved himself against top horses. He finished 2nd behind Lookin At Lucky as a Two year old in the Best Pal and the Del Mar futurity, and then 3rd in the Cash Call futurity. 

1. Stately Victor-Watching this horse as a two year old break his maiden on the grass gave me chills. He exploded through on the inside and he had such huge strides, he just kept running on and the way he won was very impressive.  Before that he finished 2nd to eventual Holy Bull stakes winner “Winslow Homer”. After that he had some rough trips and some illness’s that got in the way of his racing. But in the Blue Grass, he came from off the pace to win it by 4 and 1/4 lengths. In the Derby he ran credible finishing eighth, but ran into a wall of horses. The Belmont distance seems to suit him well, he’s been training phenomenally, very strong works with very strong gallops out. To boost my confidence Steve Haskin (a blood horse.com handicapper) has this horse as one of his picks for the Belmont.

          A couple of horses I think will pay good prices I think might be able to upset the filed is, Spangled Star, Interactif, and UptownCharlyBrown. Spangled Star ran an O.K race in the Withers going one mile, but I think he has the Pedigree to handle the Distance, I like the way he’s been training. Quite slow, but Rick Dutrow has been doing super with his horses, and I think that he’s worth betting on for being 30-1.

           Interactif, is the horse that Steve Haskin likes. He’s liked this horse all year long, and he’s been training really good leading up to the Belmont. Steve Haskin has been following this horse all year long, so I think If he believes in this horse that much he’s worth betting on.

           UpTownCharlyBrown is another horse that has been training really well leading up to the Belmont. He’s had some solid works at a half mile. I think the distance is a bit of a question mark, but he does have some good races under his belt, a good running style, and a great trainer. Kiaran McLaughlin has been very high on this horse, even before he got him into his barn. 

           I know what you’re thinking what about Ice Box. Don’t worry I haven’t forgotten Ice Box, but he’s going to be the favorite without a doubt, and I don’t like to pick the favorite, I try to find a new horse that could be peaking for this race. I really like Ice Box, he’s right up there with my picks, I just think that he’s on to many people’s list’s. 

                Kentucky Oaks, Preakness Stakes, Haskell Invitational, Woodward Stakes, 116 beyer speed figure. All of those are traits that belong to one horse, “Rachel Alexandra”. She went through a 3 year old campaign, that no other filly has ever been able to do. Many people think that she will never be the same horse again after such a demanding campaign. However, there are still many fans out there that believe Rachel will return to top form. Trainer Steve Asmussen, owner Jess Jackson certainly are not. Nor am I. If you look her races last year before she won the Oaks she earned a beyer speed figure 99, 100, 103. This year she earned a 100 beyer in the New Orleans Ladies, and a 103 beyer  in the La Troienne. Now in her next start I think you should start to see the Rachel we saw last year. I know many people are thinking,”But she won all those race last year, she should be even better after that rest”. I know that she had a six month layoff but Six months is a long time, and I think she may have needed those two race under her belt before she gets back to her racing prime. I think that in her next start we’ll notice quite an improvement.Last year it took some time to get going, that may be the case this year, I don’t know, but it’s just a thought. The best thought I could think of anyway.

               Two of the Triple Crown races are behind us, leaving the elusive Belmont Stakes remaining. First off let me say that the morning line favorite will be Ice Box. I understand that many people are rightfully taking a stand against him. Then there are still many people who really believe this horse can win the Belmont. In my opinion, Ice Box has a really good shot at winning the Belmont, and I also think that there is a high chance another horse could take the Belmont. This is horse racing, Ice Box will be the favorite and that sounds very reasonable, but this is horse racing, and so many things can happen in a race. I like Ice Box very much, but in case things don’t work out for him, I will have a couple horses I think have a shot at beating him.

                A horse I think that has a really big shot at upsetting the filed is Stately Victor. He raced 8th in the Derby, but he had a rough trip and still ran pretty decent, I think. I think he can get the Mile and Half, his recent 5 furlong in 59.40 was pretty strong. He galloped out 6 furlongs pretty well in 1:14.20. His trainer is confident in him, and I like how he is coming into the race so far. 

               I think UpTownCharlyBrown is a really neat horse. I’m not really sure if he’ll get the distance, but he is training really well, and his trainer Kieran McLaughin, says he gallops out really strongly in his works. I think he should run well in the Belmont, his race in the Lexington was a very good race. I think the fact that the blinkers are off will help him quite a bit, because he will be eager to be close to the pace . I’d like to see him rating 4th or 5th early on.

             Spangled Star, is a horse that I think will like the Belmont distance. I’m not saying that he’s one of my choices, but he’s in consideration at the moment. He ran well in the Withers, nothing anybody would call spectacular, but I think that he might not of like the very hot pace the was in front of him. I know many people say that a fast race for a closer is good, but I think it kind of threw this horse off.  I could be wrong( I am a lot), but I think that the distnace suits him well, and he might be up closer to the pace this time or he might be taken back I don’t know, but I have a hunch that this horse is better than what people think.

                 Those horses are just some longshots I think that have a shot. There are other horses that I think have really good shots at winning the Belmont, but they will not pay a whole lot of moeny. If I had to pick a horse that I think will win, is Ice Box or Make MUsic For Me. I like both of these horses to win, but I think there price will be short. I don’t like to pick the favorite unless I really truly believe in that horse, becuase then people would be like ” o that horse had short odds, anybody could have picked that horse”. I don’t think I’ll even bet the Belmont, I just like being able to see the horse that hardly no one else is seeing. Last year I said Summer Bird would have a good shot at winning, only because I liked his pedigree mostly. 

             The Met Mile looks like a very interesting race. A lot of eyes have been on Quality Road lately. He had a breathtaking race in the Donn Handicap at Gulfstream 4 months ago, and people expect to see something similar to that once again. He towers over this field without a doubt and probably will win under wraps, but as I’ve said in the past, this is horse racing, and anything can happen. This looks like a great race for Quality Road to continue his 4 year old campaign. Todd Pletcher said that the Stephen Foster Handicap was a consideration, but he said he preferred bringing him back at one mile rather than a mile and an eighth. He also said that the Whitney Stakes, Woodward Stakes, and the Breeders Cup Classic were all strong possibilities. He is still deciding whether to start him in another race before the Whitney.

              You do have a couple of nice horses in here, but I don’t think you can  compare them to Quality Road. Like I said this is horse racing and anything can happen.

                      The Gamely Stakes coming up this weekend has some pretty good horses in it. First off, we have champion Mare “Forever Together”, multiple graded stakes winner with a 4 race win streak this year ” Tuscan Evening”, and a full field of stakes winners and placers. It’s not quite clear to say who will be the Favorite but we do know that it will either be Forever Together, or Tuscan Evening. If I was a going to pick the horse I think should be the favorite, it would be Forever Together. Just, because this mare has proven herself against some of the top turf mares in the country. She always seems to put in an honest run, even with a slow pace.

                       Now we look at Tuscan Evening.A very interesting mare with the right connections to get her ready for any race, but can she have the ability for any race. I think that she may be slightly over rated, but she did beat some pretty decent fillies, and it with style. I think she will run good in the Gamely, she has an edge because she’s staying right at home, she could be a better horse than I think, but she is yet to win against a top horse like Forever Together, so it is hard to tell.

                      In this one I’m going to have to go with Forever Together to win. I think she is still a top class mare. I know she hasn’t been winning, but she just always runs super regardless of the pace in front of her. A mare that may pay a bit of a price that I think is one to watch out for is Cat By the Tale. She has run second in her last two starts against  Medalgia D’amour and Tuscan Evening.She also won the San Gorgonio early this year.

                     Well Monied is also a good horse to watch out for, she has been doing well. Don’t be surprised if she crosses the finish line first.