Breeders' Cup Juvenile

BREEDERS' CUP SATURDAY

PREVIEWS

BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE (G1),

8TH-SA, $2,000,000, 2YO, C/G, 1 1/16M, 5:43PM, 11-2

A full gate load of 14 colts and geldings will chase a $2 million purse and a

likely Eclipse Award championship in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile over 1 1/16

miles, and a couple of the leading candidates from the East have drawn the

widest posts.

1ST -- HAVANA, like prior Todd Pletcher champions Uncle Mo and Shanghai

Bobby, enters the Juvenile undefeated and favored to win.

A 2 3/4-length debut winner at Saratoga in a swift 1:02 3/5 for 5 1/2

furlongs, the son of Belmont Stakes-runner up Dunkirk successfully stretched out

to a mile in the October 5 Champagne, clinging to a neck victory over one

of the East's best juveniles, Honor Code, who is bypassing this race.

The obvious drawback for Havana is that he will have to overcome post 13. To

this point, the gray has been all speed, and if he isn't able to clear he could

be facing an extremely wide trip around the clubhouse turn at the very least. On

the plus side, there isn't a ton of speed inside of him.

Even if he loses a bit of ground, the colt seemingly has enough talent to win

from wherever he's placed. Getting a little dirt in his face and being forced to

rate are lessons that will probably help him in the long term. We'll stick with

him as he looks the best on paper.

2ND -- TAP IT RICH looked excellent taking his debut over a mile on October

12, rallying from 10 lengths back to win going away by 4 1/4 lengths. The Bob

Baffert trainee certainly had some help up front, though, chasing a swift pace

of :22 1/5, :45 4/5 and 1:11.

Whether he gets a similar setup remains to be seen, but the gray has

tremendous upside after that stellar performance. He will need to work out a

trip in this congested field, but might just be able to do so despite his

relative inexperience.

3RD -- NEW YEAR'S DAY, another Baffert trainee, was last seen breaking his

maiden at Del Mar on August 31 going a mile. It was the second career start for

the Street Cry colt, who wound up defeating BOND HOLDER by 1 3/4 lengths. That

rival subsequently landed the FrontRunner over the Juvenile course and

distance by more than two lengths.

The transition to dirt is unlikely to be much of a concern for this colt, and

he certainly drew a much better post than Havana. He figures to be within

striking range throughout breaking from post 4, and seemingly has a bright

future.

OTHERS -- Hopeful winner STRONG MANDATE ran an inexplicably sub-par race

in the Champagne, and was unlucky to draw post 14 here. The monstrous son of Tiznow should appreciate two turns and is certainly capable of rebounding.

The aforementioned BOND HOLDER needed five starts to break his maiden, but

did so in the FrontRunner while making amends for an earlier defeat to DANCE

WITH FATE, the runner-up in both the FrontRunner and the Del Mar Futurity.

MEXIKOMA was an impressive second-out winner for Team Valor International,

taking a one-mile maiden at Delaware Park by nearly 15 lengths. SMARTY'S ECHO,

runner-up in the Breeders' Futurity, is bred to handle the dirt as a son of dual

classic winner and champion Smarty Jones.