Early Breeders Cup Picks for the Classic, Dirt Mile, and Juvenile

by Horstradamus

posted on October 23, 2011 in Breeders Cup, Free Picks and Tips, Horse Racing, WinningPonies.com | No Comments >>

Even though the Breeders’ Cup is two weeks away, it’s never too early to start hunting for picks and stand out horses.  Though the prospective fields are far from certain, the top tier candidates have already picked their spots and are working out on a regular schedule leading up to the big weekend of racing.  The following is a look at some early stand outs in their respective divisions, as well as notes on how they are working up to the Breeders’ Cup.

Breeders’ Cup Classic – Tizway

This six year old horse has enough class to handle the prospective Breeders’ Cup Classic field including likely favorites Uncle Mo and the filly Harve de Grace.  Earlier in the year, Tizway won the Whitney Stakes and the Metropolitan Handicap, though he missed his scheduled appearance in the Jockey Club Gold Cup due to a fever.  One standout factor in Tizway’s favor is his last two Beyer Speed Figures of 111 and 113, these are the kinds of figures the likely winner of the race will need to run, yet much of the field has run sub-100 Beyers throughout most of the year.  The last time this horse ran the classic distance of 1 ¼ miles was in the 2009 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont where he finished in 3rd place behind Summer Bird and Quality Road, two horses that would probably demolish this field if they had the chance.

Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile – Jackson Bend

Jackson Bend

Jackson Bend scored his first win since 2009 on the opening day card at Saratoga

For a horse that’s had a lot of ups and downs since his breakout three year old season, Jackson Bend has the look of a horse who is really hitting his peak after a huge campaign at Saratoga with a win in the Forego Stakes at 7 furlongs.  He also had a strong finish behind Uncle Mo in the mile long Kelso at Belmont and ended up 3 lengths behind after a bad start and trying to find racing room when Uncle Mo drifted inward on him after the quarter pole.  The other thing this horse has going for him is his outstanding trainer Nick Zito, who nearly won the Dirt Mile last year with Morning LineJackson Bend last worked 4 furlongs in :47.92 on a fast track at Saratoga on October 18th.  The mile is his best distance and he should go off as the favorite with the recent defection of Twirling Candy due to injury.

Breeders’ Cup Juvenile – Union Rags

The Juvenile is usually one of the hardest races to handicap on the Breeders’ Cup program due to the hard to predict nature of young horses.  This year is no different with a large field expected from horses all around the country.  That being said the only real stand out horse this year is Union Rags who has impressed racing fans with his unbeaten 3-3 record especially his last win in the mile long Grade 1 Champagne at Belmont Park by over 5 lengths against a contentious field.  His last 2 Beyer Speed Figures of 92 and 95 are well above the average figures for the other likely contenders.