Arlington-Washington BC Futurity

A wide open field of 10 will go postward in the $200,000 Arlington-Washington  Breeders' Cup Futurity S. (G3) on Sunday, led by impressive

Saratoga maiden winner GRAND SURVIVAL (Grand Slam). Although the field looks

tough, and the aforementioned colt is giving an experience edge to many of his

counterparts, we will still side with the Patrick Biancone trainee.

Grand Survival was slightly green throughout the stretch in his maiden

conquer, but the bay colt persevered and did his best running very late to win

by a comfortable half-length. The son of Grand Slam cost $1 million as a

two-year-old in training, and it's likely he'll return some of that money to his

owners following a wire-to-wire score. Gary Stevens will retain the

mount.

CHARLEY TANGO (Maria's Mon) could pose the biggest threat to the top one for

conditioner Michael Stidham. The well-bred chestnut has done little wrong in two

career outings thus far, taking each contest by at least three lengths at

odds-on, and has trained well in advance of this one. Should Grand Survival not

run his race, we'll tab this one to take home the top prize. Jesse Campbell will

pilot the two-year-old.

MR. PINSTRIPE (Yankee Victor) is yet another we could envision being right

there at the wire. Trained by Steve Hobby, the dark bay has won two consecutive

outings and looked his best last out, when he pulled away to an authoritative 3

1/4-length tally at six furlongs. Although the horse is stretching out to one

mile in this fray, his pedigree and running style suggest that it will pose no

problem. Leading jockey Shaun Bridgmohan will guide the colt.

Late runner RED RAYMOND (Deputy Commander) would likely be the main

beneficiary of a pace collapse for trainer Bob Holthus. The chestnut is coming

off a nice tally in the Ellis Park Juvenile S. and is in sharp form for this

event, leading us to believe that he could challenge for a top three placing at

the very least.

HE'S A DIXIE BOY (Swear By Dixie) has never run a bad one and appears to be

crying out for more distance following three sprint races. The Walter Bindner

trainee always puts in a run and will likely do the same here, but we don't

think it will be enough to topple this group. We recommend using this horse in

many of your exotic tickets. BROADWAY RIDGE (Quaker Ridge) is the wildcard in this one for us, as we're

not exactly sure of what to make of the Florida-bred. Following a facile win at

Philadelphia Park in his debut, the chestnut ran a fairly good fourth in the

Sapling S. (G3) before missing in an allowance tilt by a head to a 1-2 shot. We

respect his consistency and determination, but we'll have trouble endorsing him

for anything but completing a trifecta or superfecta.

SORCERER'S STONE (Gulch) is another top three candidate for conditioner Pat

Bryne. Undefeated from two starts including a stakes race over this surface, the

dark bay will attempt to route for the first time but could get a bit leg weary

by the time they hit the stretch after running with Grand Survival. We wouldn't

be totally shocked to see the colt on the board at the finish, but we'll take a

firm stand against. MONDAVI (Maria's Mon) earned a low BRIS Speed number in his maiden score, but won

pretty easily for Ralph Nicks. He'd need a massive improvement to win this. BRUNZER (Dance Master) and COOL VALLEY COWBOY (General Meeting) are both

seemingly decent animals but are hard to endorse in here.