Top pick: #1 (INDIAN NOBILITY) (3-1) - Originally part of an entry with #1a-"Big Lute," trainer Dave Jacobson scratched that runner early this morning and lets this gelding go it alone. Claimed in mid-August at Saratoga for $50K, he was sent in for a two month break and tired on a sloppy track at Belmont going a mile on Oct. 16 in his first for the new barn. Jacobson brings him back quickly, shortens him up in distance, he gets a slight edge.
2nd pick: #7 (Joking) (4-1) - Well-bred gelding has been racing evenly on the turf when facing tougher. He's rounding back to his best following a 4 1/2 month layoff and trainer Charlton Baker moves him back to the dirt and drops him down to the price-tag of his last win. I almost made him the top choice.
3rd pick: #6 (Shore Runner) (3-1) - Lightly-raced gelding drops down after a solid third place finish at Belmont facing entry-level allowance foes Sept. 25. Speed/stalker has gone 4-1-1-2 on the dirt and enters in sharp form.
4th pick: #3 (Mop Head) (8-1) - He's been at this 31 condition a very long time but until recently he'd been facing tougher. Claimed by former jockey Danny Gargan for $25K at Belmont Oct. 2, he's given him four weeks of freshening. New barn raises him up a notch, switches him from turf to dirt, and shortens him up in distance. Believe a small slice is his ceiling unless there's a complete pace collapse.