Horses to Watch: An unbeaten filly and a Louisiana-bred star
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
Touchuponastar
The Louisiana-bred 3-year-old Touchuponastar picked up his fourth win from six starts when successfully stretching out over 1 1/8 miles in the Louisiana Champions Day Classic at Fair Grounds. Escaping with an easy lead through fractions of 24.55 seconds, 49.34 seconds and 1:13.46, Touchuponastar finished up strongly (running the fourth quarter-mile in 24.27 seconds and the final furlong in 12.93 seconds) to trounce older rivals by 4 3/4 lengths.
Touchuponastar reached the finish line in 1:50.66, earning a flashy 100 Beyer Speed Figure from the Daily Racing Form. This gelded son of Star Guitar should be a formidable player in the Louisiana-bred ranks for the foreseeable future.
Recent Watch List winners
This promising 2-year-old filly brought her record to 2-for-2 with a determined victory in the Starlet (G1) at Los Alamitos. Favored at 1-2, the daughter of Girvin tracked fractions of 23.36 seconds, 47.87 seconds and 1:12.86 from third position, then took command in the homestretch and dug deep to beat Pride of the Nile by a head.
Faiza’s final time of 1:44.49 for 1 1/16 miles wasn’t especially fast, but the top two finishers pulled 5 1/2 lengths clear of Chandelier (G2) runner-up Uncontrollable, so it was an encouraging stakes and two-turn debut. I’m looking forward to seeing what Faiza can accomplish this winter.
Off the Watch List
Delight
She came up short for the second straight race, fading from a pace-tracking position to finish fifth in the Wait a While at Gulfstream Park. I’ll want to see the Jessamine (G2) winner bounce back with a stronger run before playing her again.
Upcoming entries
The wait is over … maybe? Two-time Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) winner Colonel Liam may or may not make his long-awaited return to the races in Thursday’s seventh race at Gulfstream Park, a $75,000 allowance optional claimer (post time 3:07 p.m. EST).
Colonel Liam hasn’t run since finishing ninth in the Dubai Turf (G1) on March 26, and he’s posted only half a dozen workouts in preparation for his return. But Colonel Liam won the 2022 Pegasus World Cup Turf off an eight-month layoff (and with only eight workouts to sharpen his fitness), so the talented 5-year-old should be ready to win against Thursday’s allowance field.
The only question is whether Colonial Liam will be allowed to start. He landed on the also-eligible list and will need a scratch to compete, so stay tuned for race-day changes. If Colonel Liam doesn’t draw in, trainer Todd Pletcher has told Gulfstream Park the Dec. 31 Fort Lauderdale (G2) is an alternative target.
Here is my complete, updated list of Horses to Watch