The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile is a 1 1/16 mile race for two-year-old colts and geldings over the dirt. The purse is $2,000,000. This is race 9 on the program for Saturday’s Card. Post time is 5:25 p.m.
These two-year-olds are your potential Kentucky Derby starters for next year. For this reason alone, the Juvenile is always an exciting race. There are a lot of nice boys in this race that have a good chance of winning.
Union Rags, the undefeated Michael Matz runner, has been installed as the morning line favorite. He’s gradually increased his running distances and won his last start, the Grade 1 Champagne, by 5 ¼ lengths. People have been talking about this colt for a while, so it will be nice to see him run here at Churchill.
Trainer Dale Romans has Dullahan. This is a half-brother to Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird. He won at this distance in his last start, Keeneland’s Breeders Futurity. Prior to that, he had two in-the-money finishes over the turf. I want to see what the switch back to dirt will do for him.
A longshot I’m going to take a chance on is Take Charge Indy. This is a son of A.P. Indy that’s trained by Patrick Byrne. He’s making his first start on the dirt after a first, second, and fourth over synthetics. Often, horses making the switch from synthetic to dirt explode that first time out. With a morning line of 30-1, even a simple $2 across the board would yield a lucrative payout.
Today, I got a tip on this race from a Dublin writer that might be worth a shot: Daddy Long Legs. This is a son of Scat Daddy, who ran in the 2007 version of the Kentucky Derby. Scat Daddy’s kids have shown an affinity and ability on the turf, which is what Daddy Long Legs has done. He has two turf wins from three starts—one in Ireland and one in England. Scat Daddy won the Champagne on dirt as a two-year-old and really seemed to do better in his two-year-old season and the early Derby preps, so his son in the Juvenile, on the dirt, may not be a bad bet.
