Horses to Watch: Exciting 4-year-olds tackle stakes company
In this biweekly series, racing analyst J. 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.
Upcoming entries
Highland Falls
Godolphin homebred Highland Falls boasts a beautiful pedigree. He’s a son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin out of Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Round Pond, by Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Awesome Again.
This is a pedigree geared strongly toward stamina, so it wasn’t surprising to see Highland Falls post fast-finishing 1 1/16-mile allowance victories at Churchill Downs and Fair Grounds during the fall and winter. He subsequently faltered when making his stakes debut in the 1 1/4-mile Santa Anita Handicap (G1), finishing fourth, but he gained ground down the lane to finish only 2 3/4 lengths behind the winner.
Highland Falls may find conditions more suitable in Saturday’s 11th race at Oaklawn, the Oaklawn Handicap (G2), post time 6:52 p.m. EDT. The 1 1/8-mile race has drawn a quality field, but Highland Falls isn’t traveling to California this time and shouldn’t be underestimated for the hot jockey andtrainer duo of Florent Geroux and Brad Cox.
Judge Miller
Highland Falls isn’t the only beautifully bred son of Curlin in action this week. Judge Miller, produced by three-time Grade 1 winner Cavorting (by champion and Preakness winner Bernardini) looks like a formidable win threat while making his stakes debut in Saturday’s seventh race at Santa Anita, the Californian (G2), post time 7:00 p.m. EDT.
Judge Miller finished second in his debut sprinting at Del Mar, then won a seven-furlong maiden special weight and a one-mile $50,000 allowance optional claimer at Santa Anita. He achieved the latter victory by 11 lengths in the sharp time of 1:35.20.
The Californian hasn’t drawn the toughest field (only five horses have entered), so Judge Miller looks ready to secure a third straight victory for hot trainer Mark Glatt, a 28 percent winner at Santa Anita since Dec. 26.
Scylla
Although Bill Mott trainee Scylla was beaten to second place when kicking off 2024 in a $62,500 allowance optional claimer at Gulfstream Park last month, she didn’t run badly by any means. She launched a challenge from just off the pace and engaged in a prolonged head-to-head battle before failing by a neck to conquer the pacesetter. Scylla was making her first start off a 9 1/2-month layoff and pulled 9 1/4 lengths clear of the third-place finisher, so any way you slice it she ran strongly.
Scylla went 2-for-2 as a 3-year-old in 2023, winning a six-furlong maiden special weight at Churchill Downs and a one-mile $100,000 allowance optional claimer at Keeneland. She’s a logical win threat while returning to the Kentucky circuit for Friday’s ninth race at Keeneland, the 1 1/16-mile Doubledogdare (G3), post time 5:16 p.m. EDT. If Scylla moves forward in her second start of the season, the Juddmonte homebred can win the Doubledogdare and developed into a graded stakes star just like her full-brother Tacitus, winner of three Grade 2 stakes and runner-up in the 2019 Belmont.