Horses to Watch: Pletcher, Cox colts impress in debuts
Recent watch list winners
Just a Touch
Just a Touch is a beautifully bred 3-year-old son of Triple Crown winner Justify out of Comely (G3) winner Touching Beauty, in turn a daughter of three-time leading North American sire Tapit. The bay colt debuted in a six-furlong maiden special weight Saturday at Fair Grounds and left no doubt about his superiority, tracking an opening quarter mile in 22.25 seconds before taking over to dominate by 4 1/4 lengths in 1:10.50.
Just a Touch ran his final two furlongs in the strong times of 11.86 and 12.54 seconds, suggesting this Brad Cox trainee has potential for improvement while stretching out around two turns. A foray on the road to the Kentucky Derby could be on the horizon.
Speak Easy
Speaking of potential road to the Kentucky Derby contenders, Speak Easy looks ready to make noise on the trail after impressing in a seven-furlong maiden special weight Saturday at Gulfstream Park. Making his first start, the Todd Pletcher-trained son of Constitution pressed strong fractions of 22.64 and 44.61 seconds before taking over and edging clear to win by 1 3/4 lengths.
Speak Easy’s fast final time of 1:21.96 translated to a 100 Beyer Speed Figure from Daily Racing Form, the highest number posted by any 3-year-old so far this year. A bright future likely awaits.
Victory Avenue
We can’t highlight Speak Easy without also mentioning Victory Avenue, runner-up as the favorite in that fast seven-furlong maiden special weight. Despite a bit of an awkward start, the Gustavo Delgado trainee carved out the opening quarter-mile in 22.64 seconds, then ran his second quarter-mile in a blazing 21.97 seconds to maintain his lead through a half-mile in 44.61 seconds.
Victory Avenue weakened a bit down the homestretch, but he was beaten by only 1 3/4 lengths while pulling 3 3/4 lengths clear of the third-place finisher. With this strong debut under his belt, Victory Avenue surely will be tough to beat in his second start.
Recent watch list winners
Botanical
In her first start since finishing 13th in the 2023 Kentucky Oaks (G1), Botanical bounced back to the winner’s circle with a sharp victory in a one-mile $80,000 allowance optional claimer on Friday at Turfway Park. The Brad Cox trainee led all the way through splits of 24.62, 48.39 and 1:13.43 to beat her Grade 1-placed stablemate Chop Chop by 1 3/4 lengths in 1:38.38.
Botanical is now unbeaten in five starts over the Turfway Park Tapeta track. With plenty of racing still to come at Turfway, a productive winter campaign should be in the offing.
Didia
Rebounding from a 10th-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, Didia produced an utterly determined effort to win the 1 1/16-mile Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf (G2) at Gulfstream Park. After vying for command through fractions of 24.88, 48.62 and 1:12.01 seconds, Didia edged away from her pace rival and held off a late challenger to prevail by a neck in 1:40.90.
A multiple Group 1 winner in her native Argentina, Didia has quietly won six of her eight starts since arriving in the U.S. Don’t be surprised if she picks up several more victories in 2024.
Worth another try
Integration
The previously undefeated Integration ran below form when finishing fifth in the Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) at Gulfstream Park, beaten 1 3/4 lengths by the globetrotting Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf runner-up Warm Heart. The Pegasus World Cup Turf runner-up was I’m Very Busy, a horse Integration had trounced by five lengths in the Hill Prince (G2) two months ago, so perhaps Integration simply had an off day. I won’t drop him from my watch list off a single defeat.
Star Fortress
Star Fortress endured a lot of trouble during the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf, so we’ll forgive the fact she finished last of 11. Star Fortress was beaten by only five lengths in a compact field, so the runaway Cardinal (G3) winner is eligible to rebound with a clean trip next time.
Off the watch list
First Mission
Failed to fire his best shot when fading to finish ninth by 20 1/2 lengths in the Pegasus World Cup (G1) at Gulfstream Park. After two straight defeats at the graded-stakes level, I’ll want to see First Mission bounce back with a winning run before backing him again.
Marissa’s Lady
Regressed sharply in the 6 1/2-furlong Wishing Well at Turfway Park, finishing fourth by 11 lengths as an odds-on favorite. Marissa’s Lady had beaten runaway Wishing Well winner B G Warrior by a neck in the Dec. 2 Holiday Inaugural at Turfway, but she proved no match for her rival this time around.
Signator
Failed to fire in the Fred W. Hooper (G3) at Gulfstream Park, racing off the pace throughout to finish ninth by 21 1/4 lengths. Signator now has missed the trifecta in two straight stakes, so I’ll drop him from my watch list.
Here is my complete, updated list of Horses to Watch.
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.