Another day of Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” races is on tap Saturday at Keeneland, with a trio of all-fees paid, automatic berths on the line for the winners.
The $600,000 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1) has trainer Todd Pletcher back with 7-5 morning-line favorite Locked. Pletcher-trained Forte won the 1 1/16-mile Futurity las year enroute to a win in a BC Juvenile and Eclipse Award a 2-year-old male champion.
Locked, a chestnut son of Gun Runner, broke his maiden at second asking by 7 ¼ lengths at Saratoga on Sept. 1 after being bumped at the start. Jose Ortiz has called again out of post 9.
A hometown favorite is West Saratoga, a 20-1 longshot for local trainer Larry Demeritte. The already season 2-year-old won the Iroquois (G3) at Churchill Downs on Sept. 13 and is 6-2-3-0 looking for a third win in a row. This race will give the trainer an idea of whether this $11,000 colt can step up.
“You have to be around good horses to have something to compare them to,” Demeritte told bloodhorse.com. “The Breeders’ Futurity is a good test for him because a lot of these horses are going to wind up in the Kentucky Derby.”
The field also includes a pair of Brad Cox-trained colts, 3-1 Awesome Road and 7-2 Timberlake (cross-entered in the Champagne at the Big A).
The Wine Steward comes into the Futurity with a 3-for-3 record, winning at three different tracks under three different riders for trainer Mike Maker. Luis Saez gets a second chance to ride the colt leaving from post 1.
The winner earns free entry into the BC Juvenile (G1) at Santa Anita on Nov. 3. The other “Win and You’re In’’ races at Keeneland on Saturday are the $1 million Coolmore Turf Mile (G1) and the $350,000 Thoroughbred Club of America (G2).
Post time for the Futurity is 5:14 p.m. ET
The picks: 1 The Wine Steward 2 Locked 3 Awesome Road
The field for the $600,000 Claiborne Futurity (G1), from the rail out, with jockey, trainer, odds:
1 The Wine Steward (Luis Saez, Mike Maker), 8-1
2 Timberlake (Florent Geroux, Brad Cox), 7-2
3 Awesome Road (Flavien Prat, Brad Cox), 3-1
4 Baytown Chatterbox (Jane Elliott, Paul McEntee), 50-1
5 West Saratoga (Gerardo Corrales, Larry Demeritte), 20-1
6 Generous Tipper (Brian Hernandez, Jr., Ken McPeek), 15-1
7 Just Steel (Joel Rosario, D. Wayne Lukas), 12-1
8 Northern Flame (Julien Leparoux, Ken McPeek), 20-1
9 Locked (Jose Ortiz, Todd Pletcher), 7-5
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
