Horses ready to win coast to coast right now are premium commodities because it gives bettors an opportunity to pad that bankroll with the Breeders’ Cup around the corner.
Nobody can successfully tackle this game with ‘scared’ money so having a legitimate wallet moving into the Breeders’ Cup weekend will give players the confidence that is needed. As we all know, confidence is key to just about everything in life.
Let’s first start in the Big Apple and try to isolate a few recent runners that should come back and run big before October is out.
On October 8 Green Mask lost his best chance when he stumbled at the start as the second choice in the Belmont Turf Sprint Invitational. He recovered to race three wide and he tried till the very end finishing third. Green Mask is a nice horse. He was only beaten a length in an opulent sprint in Dubai last year and was a closing third in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint. He is consistent as the day is long and will be a handful right back.
National Basketball Association fans of the New York Knicks have a shot to take advantage of horses ready to win if they paid attention to the Grade 3 Knickerbocker. Carded on October 10, this race is as much about pace and it is about horses ready to win.
Blacktype was troubled at the start in the Knickerbocker and just never got untracked. He is in the good hands of Christophe Clement and he was coming off a win in the Grade 2 Commonwealth at Laurel. He could have very easily won his 4th race in a row in the Knickerbocker but he will rebound. He has shown he can win at a number of different venues and if his next race is filled with pace, he will be a handful.
The winner of the Knickerbocker could be a bet against next time. Heart to Heart got a major break when the other speed in the race Tale of Fancy was scratched. That left Heart to Heart getting a favorable pace scenario but that kind of situation will not likely materialize next out.
Those that follow Keeneland are always in search for horses ready to win and Rum Go fits the bill. This is a lightly-raced juvenile filly that has plenty of upside to her. She was educated on the dirt in her debut, added Lasix and graduated in her next start and then was awesome in her last race in the Jessamine Stakes. She was fanned wide in that race but showed tactical speed and got up for third as the longest shot on the tote board. Trained by the extremely cagey Tom Proctor, this filly has a very bright future.
Maidens on the grass are often inscrutable but Princess La Quinta gave clues in her last race that she is one of the horses ready to win. This youngster walked out of the gate in her debut, was bumped by a rival in her next start but then ran a smasher at Keeneland on October 12 at a mile. She was put on the lead by jockey James Graham and nearly stole the race. She led for three-quarters of a mile, and just failed to hold on to second by a scant nose. Look for her to return in a slightly shorter race and prevail.
Horace Greeley is credited with saying ‘go west young man’ and that is why we are headed to Santa Anita. King’s Palace was given a race in her debut. She broke slowly on October 9 under jockey Kent Desormeaux and was not persevered with at all. The sophomore is out of a stakes placed dam that dropped the near $200,000 earner Volkonsky. King’s Palace is trained by Kenny Black, who was a very good jockey before he fell victim to his demons. Since being given a chance to train for the Old English Rancho group, Black has shown he knows what he is doing.
The last one of the horses ready to win is Wild at Heart. The filly broke from the disadvantageous rail in her last race, the L.A. Woman Stakes at Santa Anita. Conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella, Wild at Heart had to settle for second in the L.A. Woman but she has never run a bad race. She has been in the money in all 7 of her starts and she has a right to have a thriving career. There are several stakes performers in her family including over $500,000 earner Pickapocket.
Watch for these runners in the entries and build that bankroll.
