With three totally different winners of the Triple Crown races and loads of parity, the race for champion 3-year-old Eclipse Award honors is on.
The trail to the highest of the nation’s most watched division will contain the $1 million, Grade 1 NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Park on Saturday, the $500,000, Grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes on July 27 at Saratoga Race Course, the $1.25 million, Grade 1 DraftKings Travers Stakes on Aug. 24 at Saratoga, and the $1 million, Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby on Sept. 21 at Parx Racing.
Nobody, in fact, could be shocked if this wide-open contest is just not determined till 3-year-olds take a look at their mettle in opposition to older horses within the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Basic Nov. 2 at Del Mar.
Here’s a have a look at the highest horses and the place they stand in pursuit of a coveted Eclipse Award, listed alphabetically.
Catching Freedom: The Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby winner ran a good fourth within the Kentucky Derby offered by Woodford Reserve and dealt with the swift two-week turnaround to take third within the Preakness Stakes. That will have come at a worth. He suffered an enormous setback when he might do no higher than fourth within the June 22 Grade 3 Ohio Derby at Thistledown as an amazing favourite. He can primarily be dominated out since no races are on his schedule at this level.
Dornoch: This full-brother to Mage, final 12 months’s Kentucky Derby winner, was 10th with a heck of an excuse within the Kentucky Derby. He drew the dreaded rail at Churchill Downs and jockey Luis Saez discovered it inconceivable to work out any form of journey from there, checking his mount laborious at one level. Dornoch rebounded to prevail within the Belmont Stakes offered by NYRA Bets. He possesses excessive cruising pace and must be reckoned with.
Dragoon Guard: He’s 3-for-3 this season and handed his first two-turn take a look at impressively within the July 6 Indiana Derby. Coach Brad Cox thinks this son of the late Arrogate can show he belongs among the many greatest in his class. When Cox talks, everybody listens.
Fierceness: The two-year-old champ and runaway winner of the Curlin Florida Derby offered by Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms at Xalapa at Gulfstream Park failed to indicate when it was most essential, lagging in 15th within the Kentucky Derby. Whereas he has displayed brilliance, he is maddeningly inconsistent for Corridor of Fame coach Todd Pletcher, alternating wins and losses all through his six-race profession.
Honor Marie: Distance is not any downside, getting a great journey is. He endured an terrible time within the Kentucky Derby and was lucky to flee unscathed. The Belmont Stakes was not significantly better. Honor Marie is in the hunt for a clear run within the Travers, however he’s being requested to deal with the 1 ¼-mile distance with out the good thing about a prep.
Mindframe: He produced lopsided victories in his first two begins. He confirmed inexperience but additionally super expertise when he missed by simply half a size to Dornoch within the Belmont Stakes, an enormous ask for him. He ought to solely enhance with every begin for Pletcher.
Mystik Dan: He must be seen because the chief within the division in the intervening time with a victory within the Kentucky Derby and a runner-up effort within the Preakness. He might do no higher than eighth within the Belmont Stakes and was despatched to the farm after making six begins by way of the primary six months this 12 months. There is no such thing as a timetable for his return. Don’t anticipate it to be any time quickly.
Seize the Gray: Like Mystik Dan, he appeared to fall sufferer to his third race in 5 weeks when he got here in a lackluster seventh within the last leg of the Triple Crown. Legendary coach D. Wayne Lukas acknowledged that he got here up “flat” after strong victories within the Pat Day Mile Stakes offered by SAP and Preakness. Lukas is satisfied Seize the Gray can observe the trail of his late-blooming sire Arrogate. A whole lot of followers who invested in him by way of MyRacehorse certain hope so.
Sierra Leone: This $2.3 million yearling buy clearly has ample capacity. Will he ever put all of it collectively? He contributed to his personal defeat when he lugged in throughout the stretch run and missed by a nostril as a part of an exciting three-horse picture within the Kentucky Derby. He gave the impression to be compromised by a speed-favoring Saratoga monitor when a belated cost left him third within the Belmont. If anybody can work out this exasperating son of Gun Runner, it’s his coach, Chad Brown.
Stronghold: The Santa Anita Derby king faces an uphill climb. He disillusioned in seventh within the Kentucky Derby and couldn’t overtake Dragoon Guard within the Indiana Derby, ending two-and-a-half lengths behind in second.
Tuscan Sky: He’s gained three of 4 begins and prepped for the Haskell in superb vogue, taking the Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth. He completed a nonthreatening seventh within the April 6 Grade 2 Wooden Memorial Stakes offered by Resorts World On line casino in his solely graded stakes strive. He must step up significantly for Pletcher, however he’s in the suitable fingers.
