Top pick: #11 (ASUNDER) - Excellent debut saw him rally to finish third, beaten less than a length sprinting here at this level Aug. 9. Capable barn (Graham Motion) stretches him out and that's a strong move by the trainer (21%). On the also-eligible list, he needs one scratch in the main-body to compete.
2nd pick: #2 (Winning Cause) - Colt was bet down to favoritism in his debut and had all sorts of traffic issues and was forced to run very wide. Son of "Giant's Causeway" is in the Pletcher barn and he wins at a 35% rate second time out.
3rd pick: #1 (Fredricksburg) - Exits the same August 4th contest as "Cause" and he rallied to finish fourth despite a terrible getaway that saw him trailing by 18 lengths early on. Home-bred has worked fast since and I'd like him more if he wasn't breaking from the rail.
4th pick: #6 (Pagets) - Longshot chased and tired going 7 furlongs on the dirt when debuting just 11 days ago. Trainer Bill Mott brings this home-bred by "Forestry" back quickly and will stretch him out in distance and move him to the turf.