Top pick: #4 (WRITINGONTHEWALL) (5-2) - With a pair of scratches this hard-hitting veteran has as many wins (17) as the rest of those running combined. Twelve of those have come on the dirt and five on the grass. Stalker is nicely spotted in his first since a win at Belmont in late Sept. in a tough starter-allowance and gets a slight edge.
2nd pick: #5 (Sol the Freud) (4-1) - He chased a wire-to-wire winner on Oct. 22 at Belmont and held gamely to miss by a length. Solid effort and it was his first in just over two months. A win threat today.
3rd pick: #7 (Leilani's Ticket) (6-1) - Strong finisher ships up from Laurel in shape and has gone 5-2-2-1 here in the past. In a winning barn (Jamie Ness) and this colt draws outside of the speed. Stretch threat.