Breeders Futurity (Grade 1) (BC) (KYD)- $500.000 Purse
KEE- For Two Year Olds
One Mile and One Sixteenth on the Dirt
October 8, 2016

Excitement builds for the running of the 13th running of the Grade 1 Breeders Futurity at KEE, not only because of the BC Juvenile points on the line, but also for the KYD points.  Sure, it’s not many KYD points, but we’re officially talking about that now with this race.  The list of past winners of this race is truly a special list to be a part of.   Fusion is the headliner of that list, but still there are no weak spots when looking at that list.  The focal point for now is on next month, and not next spring.  Looking back at Fusion, we see something that will never be repeated, ever, in HRP, again.  He won this race by 13 lengths.  Simply stunning.  Unfortunately, he went on to be beaten by 17 lengths in the Juvenile a month later.  It was a different virtual world back then! No Breeders Futurity winner has won the Juvenile, and while there have been a couple second place finishes, the closest would have been the late Explosive Speed, who missed winning the Juvenile by .05 seconds.  We have ten going to the gate, let’s meet them!

#1- Jacque Allot (End Run Farm, ridden by V Espinoza)- While you can never count out anyone that starts on the rail in our game, Jacque Allot is in for a tough assignment here.  He has one win to his credit, doing so at RUI.    His second place run in the sloppy NM-bred Mountain Top looked good, but we’re going much longer here.  He last ran in the Iroquois and just did not threaten.  Work times do not lead me to be more optimistic, but I would love to be wrong!

#2- Atletico (Our Athletes, ridden by C J Lanerie)- Like Jacque Allot, Atletico is also coming off a run in the Grade 3 Iroquois at CD in which he was a non-factor.  This colt has run in four races thus far, and only has his maiden win to his credit.   The difference between him and his rival to the inside is that I feel he is far more capable of running well at this distance based on work times, and he could have an excuse for the last result, that being the short rest.  Still looking elsewhere, though.

#3- Coin Flip (Mb Stables, ridden by J Talamo)- By the underrated sire Take A Million, Coin Flip has two wins and two second place finishes in his four career starts thus far.   His most recent result came in an allowance at DMR running at a mile, beating a pretty good field.  While Coin Flip did not run in the Iroquois, the horse that finished second in that allowance, Crop Duster, did, and for reference, he finished ahead of Jacque Allot, Atletico and Withdrawn in that race.  Speaks well for Coin Flip.

#4- Perspective (Mb Stables, K J Desormeaux)- Our second entry from Mb Stables has won one of three career races, that being a maiden win from early August.  After that result, he was sent to the grass and to the $125.000 OT Juvenile Turf at DMR, and he ran a good second in that.  It’s a little telling, therefore, that Mb would not continue to pursue the Juvenile turf with him, and he clearly thinks he can do better on the dirt.  This will also be my selfish rooting interest, given his sire, Islander Champion, the great 2014 DMR Trails champion.  Hopefully Perspective will have a more productive racing career!

#5- Duke King (Bigking, ridden by F Pennington)- This colt has won one of three races, and likely was just wanting the races to start getting longer.  Once able to showcase his routing ability, Duke King was strong in picking up his DMR maiden victory.  This is a tough step up from that, but there is no time to wait at this point if he wants to get into the BC.  He has the ability, and this may very pay huge dividends.

#6- King Death Row (Aer Stables, ridden by P Husbands)- A winner of one out of three races, it may actually be his second place run that is his most impressive race.   The came in the $125.000 Colin Stakes up at WO, a race that always seems to be competitive, and would earn a 93 SRF in the process.  That is a shorter race, but judging by his work times it actually looks he is only going to thrive as the races stretch out.  He is my pick to win the race, but even if he does not, this is a name we’ll be hearing a lot next year if things continue as they are for him.

#7- Solow (Blushing Meadows, ridden by R Alvarado Jr)- This gelding by the underrated sire, Rene, has just two races to his credit as the trainer has been patient in bringing him along.  The most recent result was in mid-August, coming in a DMR maiden at six furlongs.  A week after the win, he was gelded, and as of right now it appears as though he will be losing the bute that he ran with in his last start.  If these changes are only going to improve Solow, then he should be among the favorites here.  Plenty of talent, but I must say I like that turf work, too.

#8- Mr C (D J C Racing Stables, ridden by L Saez)- Just two weeks ago, Mr C was making his fifth start of his career, and despite his outside post, he came on strong at the end to get the victory in impressive fashion.  He has not had time to rest, but there is no time to wait for him to get a spot into the BC, and that BEL performance certainly shows that he would be a worthy participant in the Juvenile.   He is going back out there rather quickly, and that is the biggest concern.  Other then that, we’ve seen some good young horses out of Mr Creepy, and with this pedigree, you have to like his chances.

#9- Withdrawn (John Henry, ridden by D E Centeno)- This is the third of the three horses that come out of the Iroquois last month, and he was the best finisher amongst them, despite only being fifth in the running order.  He’s race five times thus far, and thrice since purchased by John Henry in private sales in mid-August for $150.000.  The new trainer was able to get him to break his maiden, coming in the run before the Iroquois.  He is a contender here, but not the favorite.

#10- Shen Valley (Keikowin Racing, ridden by M E Smith)- This will the third race in a row where I preview this horse, and I will preface this by saying that I really like him to a high degree. In these past two starts, however, he has not shown that he wants to keep increasing his distance, and that was evident in the result in the Grade 1 Hopeful.  But horses improve, especially at this age, and a tactical or other minor move can make a horse right.  There is a lot of potential here and I see several big wins in his future.  I like what he did in a work here last week.  He’s going to be a threat.

Prediction: 6-3-4-8

— NS

Categories: Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES