Lintner: Justify's crop formidable for Breeders' Cup Classic

Each Triple Crown season, there’s a rush to judgment on quality of the 3-year-old crop, as if there are seismic differences in generations of colts produced by the same stallions and out of many of the same broodmares.

The bunch Justify defeated en route to his Triple Crown was especially maligned after the 2018 Kentucky Derby given his sophomore peers’ lack of victories against older competition. Out of that Derby, only Promises Fulfilled and Firenze Fire defeated elders before the calendar turned to 2019, and they did so in one-turn races, not the more glamorous Breeders’ Cup Classic division.

At the halfway point of a new season, though, that current 4-year-old crop has produced four horses in the latest Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings, a weekly Top 10 list determined by a panel of media, horseplayers and members of the championships’ directors/secretaries panel.

McKinzie, No. 1 in the consensus poll, is second on my list to Thunder Snow, who I ultimately prefer as distances lengthen after their recent meeting in the Met Mile (G1). Of course, McKinzie missed the Triple Crown due to injury but owns a commanding victory in Churchill Downs’ Alysheba (G2) now over older males.

Catholic Boy is No. 3 by consensus and fifth on my ballot. The 1 1/4-mile winner over dirt and turf is just getting started this year, and the same was said this time last season. He might have gone on to Churchill Downs were it not for a minor bleeding episode in the Florida Derby (G1).

Vino Rosso, consensus No. 4, is third on my Top 10. He’s better with age having showcased some obvious immaturity in races after running two legs of last year’s Triple Crown. He shipped to California for a 1 1/4-mile victory in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita (G1) last time.

And finally, Quip isn’t ranked by the group, but I slotted him in ninth this week. He was among those left in Justify’s wake in the Preakness, though it’s fair to say he didn’t like the mud. Already a Grade 2 winner in 2019, Quip nearly survived a pace duel when a close second in the Stephen Foster (G2) and will keep nice company the rest of the season.

In hindsight, Justify was great at the right time, it’s obvious some of the most talented horses from that generation were still coming around. Given more time, we’ll see what the 4-year-olds are truly made of in the Nov. 2 Classic.

A full look at this week's lists...