Top pick: #5 (BERNIE THE JET) (8-1) - Price play ships up from Keeneland off a sharp effort, in shape, and he finished second in a stakes on this course in late October. Colt had a very sharp half-mile breeze after arriving from Lexington. Has a solid shot at square odds.
2nd pick: #3 (Special Skills) (3-1) - Very lightly-raced colt by "Bernstein" broke his maiden on this course when debuting in early July, and finished a pace-setting third on it in the "Pilgrim" stakes (G3) in early Oct. Un-raced since, he's training forwardly for his 3-year-old debut and looks to have a bright future.
3rd pick: #1 (Odea) (5-2) - Very speedy gelding is (4-3-1-0) overall and ran a career best when going wire-to-wire at Aqu. on April 13th. Trainer Jimm Jerkens moves him to the grass for the first time and he's bred ("Cherokee Run")to handle the new surface.
4th pick: #6 (Isn'tlovejustgrand) (12-1) - Veteran is (21-4-4-2) on this surface and has a good closing kick. However, state-bred is moving up in class and facing tougher "open" company. The faster the pace, the better his chances.