Horses to Watch: 2 unbeatens, 2 up-and-comers
In this biweekly series, racing analyst Keeler Johnson shares promising horses from his handicapping watch list, reviewing runners who have recently caught his eye and previewing horses scheduled to run back in the near future.
New to the Watch List
Fulsome has developed into a monster since switching from turf to dirt for trainer Brad Cox. Case in point? His explosive triumph in Saturday’s Matt Winn (G3) at Churchill Downs, which gave the son of Into Mischief a perfect 3-for-3 record on dirt.
Fulsome pretty much ran out of his skin in the Matt Winn. After rating in last place behind modest early fractions of :23.75 and :48.69, Fulsome unleashed a wide rally around the far turn, burst to the front in the homestretch and pulled away easily to trounce his pursuers by 3 3/4 lengths.
Best of all, Fulsome finished legitimately fast, dashing the final 5/16 of a mile in :29.29, according to Trakus. His final time of 1:42.88 also was solid, and his beaten rivals included Kentucky Derby alumni O Besos and Helium. Any way you slice it, Fulsome ran huge and looks like a star in the making.
Recent Watch List winners
The $1.5 million yearling acquisition First Captain fired off another big effort in his second career start. Favored at even money in a one-mile allowance race Saturday at Belmont Park, First Captain displayed remarkable resilience to bring his record to a perfect 2-for-2.
After pressing fractions of :23.69 and :47.17 from second place, First Captain took the lead, only to be confronted on the outside by older rival Hometown. First Captain soon lost the advantage and was pushed toward the rail by his rival in mid-stretch, which could have discouraged First Captain and produced a defeat. Instead, First Captain gamely battled back through a solid :24.82 final quarter to prevail by a length.
The undefeated 2020 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) hero returned with a gritty victory on Friday at Belmont Park. Facing four rivals in a one-mile allowance optional claiming race, Happy Saver tracked the early pace from third place then gradually wore down front-runner Top Seed to score by a length in 1:36.57.
Upcoming entries
San Pasqual (G2) winner Express Train hasn’t quite managed to snatch a Grade 1 win, finishing second in both the Malibu (G1) and Santa Anita Handicap (G1) during the winter at Santa Anita. Perhaps his luck will turn in Monday’s eighth race at Santa Anita, the Hollywood Gold Cup (G1, post time 4:51 p.m. EDT).
You can make a case that 1 1/4 miles might be a hair farther than Express Train prefers to run, considering he gave up a clear lead in the Santa Anita Handicap to finish second by half a length. But the John Shirreffs trainee brings an encouraging pedigree to the table and wasn’t badly beaten in the Oaklawn Handicap (G2) last time out, tenaciously holding on to finish third after chasing a quick pace. The son of Union Rags should give another good account of himself in the Hollywood Gold Cup.
Here is my complete, updated list of Horses to Watch.