Horse Racing Fantasy Community

There was absolutely nothing worth writing about last weekend...and unfortunately, there's not too much to write about this weekend. We'll have a lot to talk about next weekend, though, with a bunch of nice races at Churchill on Friday and Saturday.

The Withers

Despite the fact that we had a small field of four in the Withers, we could have a couple BC candidates come out of this race. J Be K is an absolute monster when he is sprinting. He got away to an easy lead in here, but might have quickened a little too early (he went nice and slow in the first quarter in :23 4/5, but his second quarter went in a sizzling :22 2/5, and that's what did him in). On the other hand, Harlem Rocker might just be that good. The unbeaten Pletcher-trainee looked great, coming from off the pace in here. He was basically geared down in the stretch after making a big, big move to get by the tiring J Be K. This horse could have Preakness written all over him. After only three starts, it's a little early to say if he's a sprinter or a classic-distance horse, but judging from this race, he looks like he would appreciate more distance.

Strength of Field: Average
Breeders' Cup Sprint/Classic Impact: Average - I don't think much of the horses who ran 3rd and 4th in here, but the top two look like the real deal.
Predictions:
Harlem Rocker - Classic Contender
J Be K - Sprint Contender

Silver Tree won the Fort Marcy at Aqueduct, and Surf Cat won the Mervyn Leroy at Hollywood, but I don't consider either of them to be major Breeders' Cup contenders. I liked both of them to win their respective races, but doubt we'll see either of them in the BC.

I'll post my Oaks and Derby selections later this week.

Good luck, and thanks for reading.