Reinier M 🐎

What's an under-the-radar 2-year-old that could make noise on the Derby Trail? One might be Hullabaloo Ray Ray. I liked what I saw in his maiden win. It's just a matter of whether he can handle the stretchout against stakes competition.

It always smells like horse barn in the Santa Anita Mall parking lot.

I wonder if Ted Noffey or Sea Strike will be favored in the Dwyer Stakes at Belmont. I'm expecting Sea Strike to be a slight favorite because he has the more recent starts, one of them a blowout win, and Chad Brown tends to take money. Ted Noffey will take a good chunk though.

Senza Parole looks too good in the Pumpkin Pie Stakes at Belmont, probably at 4/5 odds though. It has taken her a long time to start running some fast races in 2026, and she finally did with 3 straight BRIS Speed Ratings at 100 or better in her more recent starts.

Hughes is the best 2-year-old to me right now until proven otherwise. I know it can change quickly once the Derby Trail heats up more in February, but for now he's on top of my Derby Trail list. Pedigree-wise, there's no reason he can't go longer. We'll see.

It's a not a big deal to me, but Sovereignty deserves Horse of the Year. Winning the Breeders' Cup Classic + the Whitney Stakes was enough. He beat the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Belmont, JCGC, Dubai World Cup, and Stephen Foster winners, and Nitrogen. It's impressive enough.

Intrepids Fantasy might turn off some bettors in the Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont because she won all 3 starts at Delaware. The most recent start produced a 96 on BRIS though, which is competitive. Gary Capuano trains Big Cuddle, and he trained Captain Bodgit back in the day.

Maybe Answered Prayers will be sitting in a good position in the Mother Goose Stakes at Belmont. It's a tough race to handicap though. I could also be talked into Intrepids Fantasy, and of course the favorite Bodacious Bay comes off a win in the Cotillion. Interesting race.

Whatever happened to Big Cuddle? I haven't heard anything about him since his Delaware Derby win.

Sea Strike looks good in the Dwyer Stakes at Belmont. Obviously the odds will be low, but then again Ted Noffey will take a huge chunk of the betting too as a former Breeders' Cup winner. In any case, I wouldn't want to go against Sea Strike. It's either him or I'll just watch.

I feel it's a bad sign Ted Noffey missed his intended start in the Perryville Stakes at Keeneland. Maybe he's good now and ready to fire in the Dwyer Stakes at Belmont. I'm not sure I trust him yet though.

Here's my video below recapping the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, Juvenile and Classic at Keeneland. I give my opinions on the performances of Emphatic, Hughes, Sovereignty and more. Thanks to anyone who watched my BC videos over the past 2 weeks. youtube.com/watch?v=zDZZvgo6…

Been deleting some photos and saw some old ones from Equestricon. That just disappeared after one event, or was it 2? There might have been another one in Saratoga that I didn't go to. I went to the one in Louisville in 2018. It's a shame it didn't continue on. I liked the idea.

Sovereignty earned a 110 Beyer Speed Figure for his Breeders' Cup Classic win. The Puma and Knightsbridge both tied with a 107 Beyer. I don't have the numbers for T O Password and Forever Young, but I'm sure they're close to the 107 given how close they all finished together.

T O Elvis credited with a 112 Beyer in winning the Breeders' Cup Sprint. Impressive. Englishman ran his usual fast race though. I wanted to see it against older horses, and he backed up his summer form. T O Elvis just slightly better.

Emphatic and Hughes had the same 93 Beyer Figure for their wins in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and Juvenile. The faster fractions in the Juvenile Fillies + the scenario of having to move first into a run-off pacesetter made Emphatic's win look slightly more impressive.

The next big stakes races are the Mother Goose and Dwyer Stakes at Belmont next Saturday. Hopefully the fields are interesting.