2 year old colts look to notch a Grade 1

The More Nay
Grade I
Six furlongs
Firm Turf
$500,000
All horses, 2 years old
13 two year olds take to the Deauville turf course looking to notch an all important Grade 1 Stakes into their two year old belts. The race will be contested over 6 furlongs. Let’s look at the starters:

1 195603
BLANKCHECKERS(NY) lostkey10
R Stevenson
12/1
Dublin colt has already run an astounding 6 times. All 6 tries have been on the dirt. He has won 2 of those 6 tries. His last start resulted in a 5th place finish in a Grade 2 sporting a 80 sp. Top sp to date 82. His breeding suggests he prefers dirt.

2 132275
ELITE DIMAGGIO(IRE) eliteracng
S Dunlap
9/1
Rock Of Gibralter colt has a win from four starts. His recent try in a Grade 1 Equinics race resulted in a 14th place finish of 18 starters. He ran a 70sp that day. Top sp to date is 75. While this is likely a softer field he still may not be good enough to beat these.

3 74556
RAVING D SPIRIT(IRE) thereason
R Stack
7/1
Invincible Spirit colt impressed winning his Maiden debut that consisted of 14 starters. 77 sp fig was the real deal too. Well bet that day, you get a better price today. Expect improvement in start #2. Expecting a low 80’s sp out of this guy today.

4 36631
SAHARA BUDA(IRE) godmother
J Stivers
6/1
Montjeu colt is undefeated in 3 starts which includes the Grade 2 Bobby Papin in his most recent start. Colt definitely has tons of ability. His top sp thus far is 80. He looks to be versatile and that could come in handy in this race.

5 14029
NUDIST BEACH(IRE) firstfour
D Caufield
19/1
Excellent Art colt has a maiden win from three tries. His last race though was a Grade 2 at five furlongs in which he set the pace early and fell apart late to finish fourth. He recorded a 75 sp in that race. Having to negotiate and extra furlong today does not bode well for this guy.

6 109660
BUG A LUGS(NZ) pukki
R Wilkinsonboro
6/1
Zabeel colt ripped off a big sp in his last start against allowance foes recording an 87sp. He has won 2 of 4 thus far. He has good tactical speed so he should be in a good position when the real running begins. Huge chance of his last out.

7 126227
JON HENRY(KY) ndrysdale
J Bryant
6/1
Arch colt controlled race winning rather easily in his debut recording a 74 sp. He did that under wraps late which is why he is likely one of the morning line favs. This is a big jump for the John Henry namesake but anything is possible with these babies early on.

8 124940
SCATTER THE SEED(KY) stickup
W Moss
9/1
Scat Daddy colt is 2 for 2 in his young career with both wins coming at 5 1/2 furlongs. He broke his maiden recording a 72 sp and then followed that up with a slick stakes score recording a sharp 84 sp. He has done everything right thus far an might just have the best start career wise, of anyone here.

9 64166
PICKEN AWAY(KY) curlypuub
R Truitt
6/1
Mineshaft colt has a very similar running line to the guy above. 2 for 2 except he did win his last race over today’s distance while recording a nice 84 sp as well. Understandable why he is being given co-favoritism as he sure looks talented. He gets a killer jock to boot.

10 120541
SEVEN SONGS(AUS) maplefarms
H McLean
14/1
Flying Spur colt has won 1 of 3 starts. He too comes out of the Grade 2 Bobby Papin. However he was well beaten finishing 7th while giving ground late in that 5 furlong affair. Don’t think 6 panels will be much to his liking as compared to others. Top sp to date is 80.

11 121419
ROCK STORIE(KY) bdhp
J Francis
14/1
Tale Of The Cat colt has won 1 of 3 thus far but he has been competitive in all three starts. His most recent start resulted in a runner up finish in the Grade 3 Mother Lois at 5 furlongs. He appears to prefer going a bit shorter than today’s distance. Top sp to date is 78.

12 183355
RHETORICANDCONTEXT(FL) adschus02
J Kemp
19/1
Florida bred Backtalk colt has taken to the turf nicely after a pair of decent starts on the dirt. He broke his maiden in his initial turf try and then followed that up with a nice third place effort in the Grade 2 Norfellow Stakes. However that race was at 5 furlongs and he recorded a 76sp. He will need to improve off that to threaten these.

13 88747
WALNUT TREE INN(KY) raynham
P Rodman
9/1
Elusive Quality colt could be a sleeper here. After a dull dirt debut he switched to the lawn and broke his maiden smartly recording a 80sp. What I like most about that race is he came from well off the pace and ran em’ all down. That style could work wonders in a race loaded with speed. Upset special?

Nearly impossible to come up with my selections with so many of these capable of winning this. 5 of these are undefeated and one of those could turn out to be something special. With that said…my picks:

1) Picken Away
2) Walnut Tree Inn
3) Bug A Lugs