$200,000 Miller Lite Cradle Stakes (River Downs)

#1 Captain Bry (6-1)- Captured a minor stakes at Colonial Downs two races back, but regressed last out in an allowance at River Downs. The added distance seems to have contributed to his demise last out.  Larry Melancon will make the trip to River Downs to pilot this colt. If this race was shorter I might like him, but I can’t endorse him after finishing nine lengths behind the winner last out, who is also entered in this race.

#2 Appalachian Trail (5-2)- Local jockey Cesar Ccamaque will retain the mount on this son of Monashee Mountain. After finishing second to Chilliness last out, the connections have opted to add lasix. I’m going to say it helped since he fired a nice :59 B five furlong move at Presque Isle Downs on August 24. He proved he can run on the turf, and distance shouldn’t be a question. Appalachian Trail is one of the two logical choices to knock off the favorite. Keep an eye out for this colt.

#3 Chilliness (4-1)- Kentucky Derby winning jockey Calvin Borel will be in the irons today. Even Bo-rail would’ve been envious of the move Azeal De Leon made up the hedge on this undefeated son of Ecton Park to score a shocking upset at 55-1 last out. He has worked five furlongs in 1:04 B at Churchill Downs since that win. Bringing in Borel shows me their serious, and it would be no surprise to see this gelding in the winners circle again.

#4 Fitzaslew (7/5)- From the freshman sire Seattle Fitz, who won the Grade 2 Brooklyn Handicap, and finished second in the Grade 1 Donn Handicap. Fitzaslew showed he ran run like his daddy when taking a maiden special weight event at Churchill Downs with relative ease. The second place finisher in that race came back to break his maiden, and then finish fifth in the Grade 2 Saratoga Special. Trainer Ken McPeek won this race with Old Man Buck last year, and will have Perry Ouzts on this horse just as he had him on Buck. Make no mistake; this is Fitzaslew’s race to lose.

#5 Bourbon Bay (15-1)- Broke his maiden at Ellis Park last out, holding on to win by a head after stalking the pace under John McKee. He will have the services of Julio Felix for this event. The time for that race was very slow, and he doesn’t seem to be competitive on paper. I don’t like to cross any horse out of a race like this, but things don’t look good for him.

#6 Night Action (8-1)- Michael Maker and Victor Lebron hook up to bring this colt to the races. He finished third last out in an allowance event at River Downs after breaking his maiden at Ellis Park. A son of Action This Day, he will have to improve vastly to find himself in the winners circle in the Cradle Stakes.

#7 Just Like Biscuit (20-1)- Claimed his first victory at Ellis Park under Bonnie Castaneda last out. A son of Sligo Bay, this gelding has finished second to stakes runners Phosphorescent, and Medaglia D’onore. While he usually closes, he found himself much closer to the pace in his first win. I don’t see him winning, but he could find his way onto some exotic tickets at odds of 20-1 or better.

#8 Classic Bridges (30-1)- Lasix will be added for this son of Sky Classic who finished fourth in his lone start at Delaware Park. Local rider Otto Thorwarth will pick up the mount. He is somewhat of an x factor, but I wouldn’t count on a big run from this guy. He will have to step up big time to compete with these.

1st- Fitzaslew
2nd- Apalachain Trail
3rd- Chilliness

Plays:
$2 Trifecta (4/2,3,7/1,2,3,6,7,8)
$1 Superfecta (4/2,3,7/1,2,3,6,7/1,2,3,6,7,8)

Yesterday was great for me handicapping wise. I gave out the winner in the Forego, First Defence. He ended up paying $17.60 to win. Like Bobby Frankel, I too was waiting for him to back up in the stretch. First Defence showed us how good he really is, and drew off to an easy win. I thought he could get it done because of the seven furlongs distance. If you look back to 2007 he ran second to Hard Spun in the Kings Bishop at seven furlongs. My pick was based largely on that and his recent form. First Defence’s next start will likely come in the Breeders Cup, according to trainer Bobby Frankel.

Like everyone else in the world, I also had Curlin. He made a big move heading for home, but seemed to flatten out a bit even though he went by for the win. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, he will be cranked up and ready to flatten the field in his next start. I’ll touch more on the subject of Curlin later this week. Make sure to check back later today for a full analysis of the Pennsylvania Derby, Del Mar Debutante, Hopeful and Cradle Stakes.