tough, tough race. i create-a-carded the other stakes around the country, and i have more of an opinion on those, but:
Hatif: no idea. $24g in purse winnings in 12 starts.... couldn\'t hang on as the 9/5 fav in the Brz derby. pass
Superiotity: might have a huge pace advantage here. seemed to have plenty of energy left in his decent 10f win, and only needs to improve a bit in terms of figs, but steps up big here. dangerous on the lead, but pass.
Staging Post: has competitive #\'s, and has shown he can run long. the question for me is: how much did the trouble in his last race cost him? looks ready to jump back to the \"4\" lvl, but that might not be enough.
Epicentre: also had a bit of trouble in his last. looks to be close, but might be just a touch slow??
Labirinto: faced some excellent horses in europe, and loves the distance. ran a bit wide last time, thus earning the better # than the winner, and might only need a slightly better trip to get the job done. post change from 9 to 5 enough for me. one of the ones.
Continuously: hit a brick wall in last, after a perfect trip. will again have a pace advantage over this field, but needs to find some more gas in the tank down the stretch. dangerous, but too iffy for me.
Bowman Mill: half to one of my old time favotites, Cetewayo. couldn\'t hit the board
in his only two 12f tries, but ran against good ones, and earned nice #\'s. had a tough post in last, and ran a bit wide, thus earning a very good #. this horse has some tactical speed, and might get a jump on the other fast horses. with dickinson in his corner, a use for me.
Hataab: 0 for 3 at 12f, and his #\'s tend to regress as he stretches out. i\'m a big fan of drysdale, but i have to pass on this one.
Runaway Dancer: brilliant ride by mikey in his last, and was able to win at 38-1. tough post change here though (from 1 to 9). pp\'s don\'t mean as much in these 12f races, but considering this guy actually ran a few lengths slower than Labirinto, i can not endorse him here.
the bet: i like Labirinto and Bowman Mill coming off fast races, both with good rest.
i will also use the frankel entry, as they are close on figs, and should get better trips than last. exacta box, 1,4,6. since these might be three of the favs, i will use Labirinto a bit more in the other exotics.
good luck everyone!!