TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

RAIL TRIP (Jump Start), who recorded his first graded stakes win when posting a three-length upset in last year's Hollywood Gold Cup H. (G1), will be heavily favored when he seeks a title defense in Saturday's 71st edition of the 1 1/4-mile event. He looks ready to join Lava Man (2005-07) and Native Diver (1965-67) as the only repeat winners in Gold Cup history.

After easily winning the Gold Cup, Rail Trip finished a close third in the Pacific Classic (G1), but he wasn't seen again until May 8, returning from the eight-month layoff with a convincing victory in the 1 1/16-mile Mervyn LeRoy H. (G2). That effort took little out of the five-year-old gelding, who posted an authoritative 2 3/4-length score in the 1 1/8-mile Californian S. (G2) on June 12, and the Ron Ellis pupil appears improved to us this season. We expect to see him keep moving forward with an impressive showing beneath Rafael Bejarano.

COMPARI (Redattore [Brz]) looks like a turf horse, but he posted a wire-to-wire score in the 1 1/8-mile Snow Chief S. last year at Hollywood Park, defeating state-bred rivals with ease. The Marty Jones-trained gelding is eligible to rebound upon an uncharacteristic showing in the Shoemaker Mile (G1), which is a throw out due to the terrible trip, and is well-drawn in post 2. The four-year-old could easily be the controlling speed from his inside post and could last a long way with Mike Smith. We'll use the hard-knocking bay (he compiled six straight wins prior to the Shoemaker) on the bottom of the exacta.

TAP IT LIGHT (General Meeting) could offer some value to the exotics. Claimed for $40,000 last August, the six-year-old gelding came to hand earlier this season for trainer Mike Mitchell, winning the Tokyo City Cup H. (G3), and he loves synthetic tracks (11-4-2-3). His BRIS Speed numbers are a little light, but we feel the chestnut is capable of further improvement and won't be surprised to see him step forth with a career-best under Tyler Baze.

AWESOME GEM (Awesome Again) lives on top-three placings, earning more than $1.9 million despite few big wins in his career, and the seven-year-old gelding has performed well in four starts this season for Craig Dollase, recording a pair of seconds in the Lone Star Park H. (G3) and Charles Town Classic as well as a third in the New Orleans H. (G2). Though the late runner is an allowance winner over the Cushion Track, we feel he's probably a little better on a dirt track. However, the chestnut is still an obvious top-three contender.

RICHARD'S KID (Lemon Drop Kid) is also capable of challenging for a minor award, but we'll take a stand against in his Cushion Track debut. The Bob Baffert-trained horse ran well off a three-month freshening when capturing the San Antonio H. (G2) earlier this season, but he continued to work over the winter in preparation for that start and has been given a lengthy vacation for this spot following his trip to Dubai in late March. Seventh in the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1), the five-year-old returned to the worktab on June 8 and this race is clearly a prep for his title defense in the August 28 Pacific Classic. He could be a little short.

CIGAR MAN (Drewman) has registered some big BRIS Late Pace figures in the past, but the gelding appears to favor a little less ground and would be a big surprise against these rivals. TRES BORRACHOS (Ecton Park) finished a surprising second in last year's Gold Cup, but the five-year-old can't be recommended with his dull recent form.