Misremembered looks to be favored in Strub Stakes

I can remember the first time I saw Misremembered race. It was in the Grade 3 Affirmed and he had to tackle a horse named Grazen. In the end Grazen was victorious, but only momentarily. I remember hearing Bob Baffert saying something along the lines of  “Today your going to find out why I’m a Hall of Fame trainer” before Misremembered’s next start in the Grade 2 Swaps, where Grazen was also entered. Misremembered won this time by 1 3/4 lengths after grabbing the early lead.

It’s been all good things since then for the son of Candy Ride. He will have a huge shot in the Strub Stakes after finishing third last out in the Malibu Stakes. He had a bad post in that race and got a horrid trip. This distance will suit him much better. He is going to be a tough horse to beat, but there are several nice runners in here capable of doing the job.

I had my doubts about Smart Bid, but he has looked very strong since winning the Damascus on Breeders Cup day. His last race was a second place finish behind Papa Clem in the San Fernando Stakes. I wasn’t sure if this was his preferred surface, but he stayed on strong in that race after relinquishing the lead. His pedigree says he should handle 9 furlongs, but his only attempt was in the Sham where he finished 6th. He is one to keep an eye on.

Eagle Poise figures to garner plenty of support shipping in from Woodbine for trainer Bill Mott and Juddmonte Farms. Julien Leparoux will get the mount. This colt rarely runs a bad race. His most recent try was a second behind Breeders Cup Marathon runner up Cloudy’s Knight. He is the x factor for this race.

Rendezvous ran third last out in the San Fernando after racing evenlythe entire way. Rafeal Bejarano will pilot the colt. He was probably a victim of track  bias last out and will run a better race here. The extra distance will work to his benefit. His last win came by a nose in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby.

It seems like Massone always runs a good race, but can never seem to win. He may fix that problem in this race. He was last seen running third in the Sir Beaufort behind The Usual Q.T. under Garrett Gomez, but he will have Mike Smith in the irons for this race. The son of Menifee will need a fast pace to chase.

Square Eddie will give it a go after finishing out of the money in four consecutive races. He is a really nice horse and I’d like to see him get a win in allowance company before trying to tackle the big boys again. He probably doesn’t have much of a shot here, but he is one of my sentimental favorites.

Viscount, Gallant Son, Diferentkindagreat, and Heavenly Wind round out the field. Who do you like? Click here for my picks and plays for this race and several others this weekend.