Horses to Watch: Rising 3-year-old sprinter joins the list
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
Just how talented is Drew’s Gold? There’s no way to know, because he’s barely been tested. The son of Violence trounced the Feb. 11 Jimmy Winkfield at Aqueduct by 4 1/4 lengths and followed up Friday with an even more impressive performance in the Gold Fever at Belmont Park.
In the Gold Fever, Drew’s Gold vied for command through fractions of 22.15 and 45.06 seconds before dashing his final two furlongs in 11.96 and 12.34 seconds to power clear and win by 4 3/4 lengths in 1:09.36. Trained by James Chapman, Drew’s Gold looks like a star sprinter in the making and looms as a logical threat to win the Woody Stephens (G1) at Belmont next month.
Recent Watch List winner
Last year’s Ballerina Handicap (G1) runner-up bounced back to peak form with a convincing victory in the Vagrancy (G3) at Belmont Park. Returning to action three months after a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Minaret at Tampa Bay Downs, Caramel Swirl settled in sixth place behind splits of 23.30 and 46.60 seconds before rallying boldly to win eased up by 2 1/2 lengths.
Caramel Swirl completed 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:16.98 and appears on the verge of a strong spring-summer campaign. The June 17 Bed o’ Roses (G2) at Belmont could be a viable near-term target for the Godolphin homebred.
Worth another try
Bishops Bay ran a winning race in the Peter Pan (G3), but missed out in a driving finish, settling for second place by a head against Arcangelo. By any metric Bishops Bay ran well, vying for the lead through splits of 24.52, 48.84 and 1:13.23 before sprinting his final three furlongs in about 36.50 seconds.
The final time was a solid 1:49.71, and Bishops Bay pulled 8 3/4 lengths clear of the third-place finisher, so this was an encouraging first try against stakes competition. I’m excited to see where Bishops Bay heads next.
Brad Cox trainee suffered his first defeat from three starts when finishing second in the Gold Fever. Although Squire Creek was no match for Drew’s Gold, Squire Creek did finish 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Bay Shore (G3) winner Joey’s Freshwater. I’m willing to give Squire Creek one more try next time, particularly since his pedigree offers potential for stretching out in distance.
Upcoming entry
In 2021, Following Sea enjoyed a productive 3-year-old season, winning the Vorsbugh (G2) against older rivals and placing in such prestigious prizes as the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, Cigar Mile Handicap (G1), Haskell (G1) and H. Allen Jerkens Memorial (G1).
Following Sea hasn’t run since December 2021, but the Todd Pletcher trainee is making a belated return to the races in Thursday’s seventh race at Belmont Park, an $80,000 allowance optional claimer (post time 6:15 p.m. EDT). The long layoff is a question mark, but Thursday’s seven-furlong distance should suit Following Sea just fine, and he enters off a bullet five-furlong workout over the Belmont Park training track. Perhaps a productive 5-year-old campaign is in the offing.
Here is my complete, updated list of Horses to Watch.
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