Horses to watch: Back Code of Honor one more time
In this biweekly series, racing analyst Keeler Johnson will share 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:
Four times placed against Grade 1 company as a 3-year-old, Tacitus was developing a reputation as a “pick up the pieces” type unable to seal the deal against top company. But then the 4-year-old son of Tapit delivered a powerful victory in the 1 1/4-mile Suburban Stakes (G2) on Saturday at Belmont Park, hinting he may have finally turned a corner and put everything together.
Wearing blinkers for the first time since last fall, Tacitus was content to settle in midpack early on, about three lengths behind fractions of :24.68 and :48.32. But as the pace intensified down the backstretch and around the far turn, Tacitus unleashed a powerful rally. Sprinting the third quarter in :22.50, and the fourth quarter in approximately :23.66, Tacitus swept past the leaders and powered clear with authority down the homestretch, finishing in:24.53 to dominate his rivals by 8 3/4 lengths.
It was a powerful performance on the clock, and while the track was fast, Tacitus deserves plenty of credit for making a huge middle move and sustaining it through the stretch. This was a breakthrough performance, stamping Tacitus as a runner worth watching throughout the summer.
Value Proposition
This Chad Brown trainee appeared to be full of run turning for home in Saturday’s 1-mile Poker Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park, but ran up on the heels of the leader at the top of the lane. Jockey Irad Ortiz tried to steer the 4-year-old ridgling outside and briefly found racing room, but just as Value Proposition was starting to accelerate, he was pushed into tight quarters again and had to steady in traffic.
Despite these obstacles, Value Proposition finished third, ahead of Grade 1 winners Got Stormy and Valid Point while beaten just 2 3/4 lengths by the unencumbered late runner Social Paranoia. With a clean journey, Value Proposition might have been right in the thick of things at the finish. His previous run produced a promising allowance win going a mile at Belmont—his first start off an 11-month layoff—so I’ll add Value Proposition to my watch list and wait to see where he turns up next.
Worth Another Try:
Code of Honor
Although Watch List runner Code of Honor suffered a defeat in the 1-mile Metropolitan Handicap (G1) at Belmont on Saturday, the son of Noble Mission didn’t run a bad race by any means and is worth playing again next time. Simply put, Code of Honor was disadvantaged by a modest pace in the “Met Mile.” While front-running winner Vekoma carved out uncontested fractions of :22.73 and :45.87—slow for the Metropolitan—Code of Honor was back in last place, trailing the leader by half a dozen lengths or more.
Considering how Vekoma sprinted the final two quarters in :23.70 and :23.31, Code of Honor never had a realistic chance to win, but he never gave up and came charging late to finish third by 1 1/2 lengths. Actually, Code of Honor was the only closer to make an impact down the lane, since the pace-tracking duo of Network Effect and Warrior’s Charge followed Vekoma around the track to finish second and fourth. A more advantageous pace setup might be all Code of Honor needs to bounce back with a winning effort.
Recent Winners:
Uncle Chuck
The outcome was hardly surprising—he was favored at 2-5—but the lightly-raced Uncle Chuck delivered impressively in the 1 1/8-mile Los Alamitos Derby (G3) on Saturday at Los Alamitos, winning easily for the second time in as many starts.
Conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, Uncle Chuck demonstrated positive development while stepping up in class and distance. Whereas he dominated his debut at Santa Anita in gate-to-wire fashion, Uncle Chuck employed rating tactics in the Los Alamitos Derby, settling comfortably behind splits of :22.76 and :47.15 before cruising to the front on the far turn. Down the lane, Uncle Chuck widened professionally under urging from jockey Luis Saez, sprinting the final furlong in :11.85 to win by four lengths in 1:47.65.
Uncle Chuck is on a tight schedule for qualifying to the Kentucky Derby; the Run for the Roses will be contested less than three months after Uncle Chuck’s debut. But Baffert has worked this magic before with Triple Crown champion Justify, and it’s obvious Uncle Chuck has the engine of a serious racehorse. I’ll keep him on my watch list as long as he keeps winning, which—judging from his performances so far—may represent the foreseeable future.
Which horses caught your eye last weekend?