Across the Board: Bob Hope Stakes worth a closer look

Beginning this week, the Across the Board column is moving to a Friday publication date to combine my perspective on a current racing issue, trend or pattern with a handicapping selection whenever possible ahead of a weekend stakes race.

We are, of course, about two weeks past the exciting and rich Breeders’ Cup races that were run at Churchill Downs. As a result, the vast majority of top horses are getting the break in their training they deserve, a break that will help them come out fresh for the long list of major stakes we will see when the weather improves in late March and/or April. 

The younger horses – specifically, the 2-year-olds who flashed such promise in their limited careers in 2018 – certainly are being trained to show up as physically improved sophomores. This, so they may reach their true potential in prep races for the spring classics that every owner, trainer and jockey wants to win.

Here are just a a trio of the most promising young horses that caught my eye, and to be sure, these horses suggested via intriguing early hints that they could become formidable factors heading toward the Triple Crown trail.

Specifically, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert certainly is working with the terrific prospect, Breeders' Cup Juvenile Game Winner, who won all four of his starts in 2018 and will be the early Kentucky Derby favorite as he gets ready for his 2019 debut. But Game Winner hardly is a lone wolf on the prowl. He is sure to face strong competition moving forward, even with horses from the same  barn. 

On Saturday, Baffert will send out another of his well-bred youngsters in the Grade 3, $100,000 Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar in Mucho Gusto. Metropol, his second entry, will reportedly scratch due to an elevated temperature. Both of these talented young colts deserve to be watched carefully moving forward. They could develop into legit Kentucky Derby types ,just as handful of other youngsters from other barns might do the same.

While Baffert knows his way around good young horses, it is not automatic that the pair he is running at Del Mar on Saturday definitely will be star 3-year-olds. But that misses a key point.

At the bottom line, horse players must decide for themselves what they see in these races for young horses. If you have chosen not to pay close attention to these early season stakes, or only casually watched them, please realize that Baffert has at least four other young prospects in his barn with the chance to run with the best young horses in the West. Notes should be kept on all of them.

While it may seem obvious, it has been my experience that few horseplayers really take the needed time to properly evaluate which horses actually run the most positive races in early season prep stakes – as in the Bob Hope as well as all the stakes for young horses to be run in California, New York, Louisiana's Fair Grounds and Churchill.

Forgive me for emphasizing this point, but the Bob Hope stakes offers a perfect forum for fans to take the time to properly analyze the performances of every horse who competes in that race. Fans hoping to get ahead in this game must realize the need to get a legit handle on these young horses in their early season races. 

Actually, if a player truly wants to catch some worthy winners and logical prospects for the more important races, such as the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct; the Santa Anita Derby, or the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park and the Florida Derby at Gulfstream, let me reemphasize this key point: 

Do not take races like Saturday’s Bob Hope lightly. Watch them very carefully. Watch the replay as many times as you need to, in order to really understand why one specific horse won and why another horse lost.

Studying the early season Derby prep races has helped me establish a relatively high win percentage in the richer stakes that followed soon afterward. Naturally, that has led to many good wins in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. 

With Baffert’s horse in the Bob Hope figuring to give a good account of himself while being bet down from his 5-2 morning line favoritism, my first weekly handicapping selection will begin with next Friday’s column. In the meantime, enjoy a great Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends.

Steve Davidowitz has written many books on handicapping, including the classic, "Betting Thoroughbreds." His Across the Board columns appear regularly at Horse Racing Nation. Click here to read past editions.