A six-pack has entered the Champagne Stakes. The Champagne has a large purse of 500K and Grade 1 status. Competitive Edge who was considered the top horse out East was injured a few weeks back. The most impressive recent maiden winners have entered this race.
The Skinny:
El Kabeir enters in with a great looking win on paper with a 10 length maiden victory at the Spa. The track was extremely biased that day and the improvement from his first race to his 2nd race was startling. Scat Daddy breeding causes concern for long-term development. Fits in this spot and will be bet hard at the windows. Faces other speed.
Upstart is a New Yorker with two impressive victories. Broke slow in debut and was hemmed in at the rail before running away from the competition down the stretch. Came back in 9 days and destroyed another group of New York breds. Fresh, fit and the benefit of a 2nd win should help him.
The Truth or Else – was entered on the turf to gain racing experience. Made a visually impressive 3 wide move in last race into a lone speed horse and outran the race the race favorite. Has 3 races. Strong development pattern and long-term has the most upside of anyone in this field. Will love a speed duel.
Daredevil – Hammered at the windows in his debut race and won for fun in the slop. The works have been fast for the connections who like to win early and support their horses at the windows. Has speed and is sharp will try to take them wire to wire but faces other pace pressure.
I Spent It – Lost to Competitive Edge in a race run with fast fractions. Came off the pace in his 2nd career start. First race was impressive visually but slow on the clock. Should run well not sure if he has much more improvement in him.
Holy Boss – Big win at Churchill Downs with an explosive turn of foot on the turn. Came home fast after slow fractions. Faces 2 other speeds in the race and may be part of a pace meltdown.
The Selection:
Upstart has the most upside and has been visually impressive in both wins. Locked and loaded for a big race. The Truth or Else is a true distance horse and will be the long-term horse from this race. Would benefit from a speed duel and may be the longest shot on the board. Big Chance.