Horses to Watch: Kale's Angel + McPeek debut winner

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.

Results

Saturday

Oaklawn, race 9. Watch list member Kale’s Angel had to work harder than expected in the six-furlong Renaissance, but the 3-year-old son of Complexity got the job done as the 3-10 favorite. Running back just two weeks after a third-place finish in the 1 1/16-mile Smarty Jones, Kale’s Angel settled in fourth behind fractions of 21.98 and 46.24 seconds, then rallied resolutely to beat the pacesetter by a head in 1:12.75 seconds.

Fair Grounds, race 7. When trainer Kenny McPeek saddles a winning first-time starter, it’s wise to sit up and take notice. McPeek doesn’t crank his young runners to win on debut, and when they do, it’s often because they’re stakes-caliber horses. Examples from recent years include Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks winner Thorpedo Anna and multiple Grade 2 winner Smile Happy.

That’s why I’m adding Hypnus to my watch list. The McPeek-trained 3-year-old debuted with victory in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight at Fair Grounds. The beautifully bred son of six-time leading North American sire Into Mischief out of Grade 1 winner Dream Tree rated in sixth place behind fractions of 23.30, 47.76 and 1:13.33 before rallying strongly to win by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:46.33.

Hypnus’s winning time was 0.74 seconds faster than the final clocking from the Lecomte (G3) later on the card. He earned a respectable 85 Beyer Speed Figure from Daily Racing Form, and Marcus Hersh of DRF reports the Risen Star (G2) or Rebel (G2) will be next for Hypnus.

Fair Grounds, race 11. Skinner ran a bit below my expectations when finishing third in the 1 1/16-mile Louisiana (G3), beaten by 1 1/2 lengths. But he was right in contention down the homestretch and missed second place by only a head. This marked Skinner’s first start outside of California, so I’ll keep the 2024 Native Diver (G3) winner on my watch list and give him another try next time.

Fair Grounds, race 12. Disco Time kept his unbeaten record intact in the 1 1/16-mile Lecomte (G3), bringing his career tally to 3-for-3 while scoring his second win as a member of my watch list.

In a departure from the forwardly placed tactics Disco Time employed in his first two starts, he dropped back to 10th place for the first half-mile of the Lecomte, trailing fast fractions of 23.68 and 47.91 seconds by as many as 10 1/4 lengths. But as the pace decelerated down the homestretch, Disco Time gobbled up ground to prevail by a neck in 1:47.07.

Meanwhile, Calling Card never got into contention while finishing eighth by five lengths, which marked his second straight defeat. I’ll drop him from my watch list for the time being, but I’ll consider adding him back if he returns to the New York-bred ranks sometime down the road.

Entry

Thursday

Oaklawn, race 9. Booth had a tough time in a $100,000 allowance optional claimer at Oaklawn last month. After falling a bit farther off the early lead than usual, he lacked racing room down the homestretch and didn’t have a fair chance to challenge, ultimately finishing fourth by 2 3/4 lengths.

If Booth gets an unencumbered trip while stepping up in class for the six-furlong Byerley Turk at Oaklawn, I believe he can outrun his 15-1 morning-line odds. He dominated a six-furlong $100,000 allowance optional claimer over this track in February 2024, so on his best day Booth is good enough to factor against Thursday’s field.

2025 watch-list record

In 2025, horses on my watch list have recorded 13 starts, four wins, three seconds and three thirds for a 31 percent win rate and a 77 percent in-the-money rate.

Here is my complete, updated list of Horses to Watch.