Iroquois

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

Sunday's Iroquois S. (G3) at Churchill Downs looks very contentious for the

runner-up spot. Hopeful (G1) winner DUBLIN (Afleet Alex) has a big class edge on his 11

challengers, and his 4-1 odds on the morning line looks unrealistic. He could

easily be less than 2-1 by post time, but we can't go against the favorite.

Trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, Dublin finished fourth in his first

career appearance at Churchill and then broke his maiden by 3 1/4 lengths at

Saratoga. The chestnut rolled to an impressive two-length score in the

seven-furlong Hopeful next out, striding out tremendously at the finish, but he

never got untracked last time in the Champagne (G1), checking in fifth. He's

recorded a couple of works since then at Churchill and should appreciate the

one-mile distance in this spot. We'll look for him to bounce back with a superb

showing.

THREE DAY RUSH (Harlan's Holiday) broke his maiden when capturing the N.A.T.C.

Futurity at Monmouth Park last time, and the new addition to Todd Pletcher's

stable garnered an excellent 96 BRIS Speed rating in his last start. He'll be a

forward factor from the start under Edgar Prado, and we'll give him the best

chance at an upset of the favorite.

SOARING EMPIRE (Empire Maker) is another Monmouth shipper who we will use in

the top three. The Cam Gambolati pupil rallied from off the pace to win going

away by 3 1/4 lengths in a maiden special weight last time, registering a 96

BRIS Late Pace and a 95 BRIS Speed rating, and we won't be surprised to see him

carry that form forward in his stakes debut. Eddie Castro will retain the mount

on the promising colt.

RAGING WIT (Distorted Humor) exits a good second to Breeders' Cup Juvenile

Turf (G2) contender Interactif (Broken Vow) in the grassy Bourbon S. (G3) last

time, but the Bill Mott colt will be making his dirt debut from the rail here.

We like the addition of Julien Leparoux and the morning-line odds (12-1), and

we'll throw the stalker into some exotics.

FIST OF RAGE (Consolidator) overcame traffic trouble to win his debut at

Keeneland last time, getting up by a nose for Kenny McPeek, and Kent Desormeaux

will return to the saddle on the chestnut. The late-running colt will

probably get enough pace up front to set up his late rally, so consider him for

the top three. BRASSY BOY (Storm and a Half) also merits some consideration for

the exotics, winning two starts at Churchill before a third in the Bashford

Manor (G3) in early July, and he returned from a freshening with a decent second

in a restricted event at Louisiana Downs last time. We're concerned that he's

never been past six furlongs and will have to stretch out a quarter-mile in this

spot, but the Arkansas-bred remains a viable contender for a minor award.

THISKYHASNOLIMIT (Sky Mesa) is eligible to outperform our expectations, but

he's faltered pretty badly in the stretch the last two times. The Steve

Asmussen-trained colt appears to be training well for this appearance, and we

can't completely dismiss his chances for the top three. GLEAM OF HOPE (City Zip)

brings a three-race win streak into this event, but his BRIS numbers are too low

for us to recommend his chances.

CALL SHOT (Tale of the Cat) has raced exclusively on synthetics and doesn't

show any dirt works. The colt has shown some promise in his three career starts,

but he's too much of an unknown for us. UH OH BANGO (Top Hit) figures to show

speed off his runaway score in the Prairie Meadows Freshman S. last time, but we

can't recommend the Arizona-bred's chances at this level going eight furlongs.

COMEDORO (Posse) will come out winging it from his outside post, but we can't

envision him sustaining his speed. OH CHARLIE BOY (Canadian Frontier) turned in

two solid efforts on dirt against lesser before an unplaced effort against

stakes rivals on the Tapeta last time. We're willing to throw his last out, but

the gray colt still has class concerns in this spot.