Anyone else have a Breeders' Cup hangover?
Maybe it's the euphoria wearing off after a terrific weekend of championship racing, or the impending long, cold Kentucky winter that is just around the corner, but whatever the reason, it feels like I downed a 12-pack the night before and it has zapped all of the racing enthusiasm from my body. I need to get it back, and in a hurry.
The only known cure I am aware of is to focus on 2-year-olds and to get into Kentucky Derby mode. It's not easy to do in November, but with a handful of big juvenile races coming up at Aqueduct, Churchill, and Hollywood, and the first Kentucky Derby futures now available, it's a good place to start.
Courtesy of Wynn Casino in Las Vegas, here is a list of a couple hundred 2-year-olds that have impressed people enough to make one of its initial future book lists. It is updated as of Nov. 9. As far as I know, if there is any horse you like not on the list, Wynn will come up with odds and take your bet.
On this list, Lookin at Lucky, Bob Baffert's BC Juvenile runner-up, is the 12-1 favorite. Rick Dutrow also has a pair, Homeboykris and D'Funnybone--the former who will run in the Remsen later this month--on the board at 50-1 and 75-1, respectively.
At this point in the game, I would not take less than 40-1 on any horse. It's way too early to risk big money on any horse with low odds, even a talented horse like Lookin at Lucky. Too many things can happen. I'm looking for something at 100-1 or more, ideally.
What I'm interested in hearing about are any 2-year-olds on your radar screen. Has any maiden winner particularly impressed you? Any of them pointing to one of the major juvenile stakes races? Or, if they haven't started racing yet, any first-time starters we should look for?
One horse I am certainly going to take a stab at Interactif at 225-1. Third in the Juvenile Turf, Interactif has been sent down to Palm Meadows in Florida to train for the winter and I am sure Todd Pletcher will give him every opportunity to make the transfer to dirt. Remember, the Broken Vow colt broke his maiden on the Monmouth main track. We already know the two-time graded stakes winner is very talented and Kent Desormeaux has said he is already hopeful he has his early Derby horse. I have a friend going to Vegas this weekend and I have asked him to put a few bucks on Interactif for me.
Whether you're a future book player or not, it really doesn't matter. What's important is to get beyond this post Breeders' Cup funk and start focusing on the 2-year-olds. After all, the Derby is less than six months away!
