Top pick: #5 (MELVILLE) (9-2) - Lightly-raced and well bred, he broke his maiden here Dec. 26 going a bit shorter. Competitive in all three starts, home bred by "Street Cry" has good positional speed and has plenty of room for upside. He gets the slightest of edges over #1 "Ironicus."
2nd pick: #1 (Ironicus) (4-1) - Beautifully bred colt has gone 4-1-2-1 since switching to the turf.Grey son of "Distorted Humor" has a strong closing style and draws a nice ground saving post. Win candidate.
3rd pick: #4 (Awesome Sky) (7-2) - Since trainer Mark Casse moved him to the grass this son of "Sky Mesa" has turned his career around. He's 4-1-2-1 since then and finished a fast closing third here at this level and distance Dec. 27. He's in the three horse win mix.
4th pick: #10 (Trini Boss) (15-1) - Speedy sort moves way up in class after a wire-to-wire win here on Jan. 3 racing for a $35K tag. May do well at a big price.
5th pick: #11 (Lord Tronodor) (15-1) - Lightly-raced and well bred, he hasn't seen action since breaking his maiden last May at Belmont. He has a tough post and gives away a big recency edge to the top three selections.