With the Breeders\u2019 Bowl Classic looming, no trainer wants to have a stable full of question marks. Yet every horse in our field this week seems to have a question to answer. Can last year\u2019s winner of this race, Unprecedented<\/B>, shave a year off his career and run back to that winning performance? Can morning-line favorite, Scoobs Connection<\/B>, win a race going this far? Can Tempest <\/B>show that his sensational win in the G-2 Abraham Lincoln Handicap wasn\u2019t a once-in-a-lifetime performance? Can Twist Of Lemon <\/B>run a big race outside the state of California? I\u2019ll be frank. I know the answer to none of these questions — that\u2019s why they run the race. But let\u2019s give you all a look at our contenders as we try to sort it out. 1\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Tell Me When To Go (romeshome)<\/SPAN><\/B> – Medaglia D\u2019 Oro colt is the longest shot on the board and is also one of two three-year olds in the field and, like our other three-year old, Al Hirt<\/B>, he\u2019s tackling his elders for the first time this week. He did manage to finish ahead of Al Hirt <\/B>in the G-1 Princess Stakes back in June, but that also happens to be the only occasion he\u2019s managed to fire a triple digit speed figure and asking him to top that effort against this veteran bunch just seems to be asking too much. He does have some speed in what\u2019s shaping up to be a pretty paceless affair, so jock\u2019s best bet may be to gun for the front and hope for the best\u2026 2\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Act Of God (lenny13)<\/SPAN><\/B> – Gotta believe he really enjoyed the sloppy track he got in winning the G-1 Gotta Fix The Sprinklers Classic, because all attempts in winning G-1\u2019s on fast tracks this year have resulted in dismal results — such as his latest G-1 adventure when he never found his stretch kick and finished tenth in the G-1 CA Classic. Empire Maker\u00a0four-year old’s\u00a0only other wins this year came in allowance races as a heavy favorite. Good news is the name is appropriate — he may well need an Act Of God<\/B> to help him get back to the winner\u2019s circle this week\u2026 3\u00a0 <\/SPAN>I Come To Play (IRE) (chibound2)<\/SPAN><\/B> – Big effort last out in the G-2 Insulin Cap snapped a three race streak of off the board finishes and he also topped Tempest <\/B>in that race and that one looks like a contender in here. His G-1 efforts have been nearly as dismal as Act Of God<\/B>\u2019s and he actually finished behind that one in the aforementioned G-1 Gotta Fix The Sprinklers Classic. Losing three in a row as badly as he did doesn\u2019t really say much for his consistency and he hasn\u2019t strung together a pair of good back-to-back efforts since May, so it\u2019s kind of hard to imagine he can step up in class and fire another big shot this week. 4\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Hemisphere (IRE) (volcano)<\/SPAN><\/B> – Montjeu (IRE) five-year old is ambitiously placed this week to say the least — started off the year with five straight allowance appearances (three wins) and prepped for this with a third place effort against minor stakes types — neither of those foes that finished ahead of him that day have tried G-1 company. He\u2019s posted triple digit speed figures in his last three, but they\u2019re still not high enough to scare these away and it\u2019s not like he earned any of them against the kind of field he\u2019s got to take on this week. 5\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Celtic Legend (FR) (correction)<\/SPAN><\/B> – Quite possibly even more ambitiously placed than Hemisphere (IRE) <\/B>— only win of the year came on turf and in allowance company, so how does he find himself in a G-1 on the dirt? Did he take a wrong turn? This is only his fourth start on the dirt, so it\u2019s possible he\u2019s still got some upside — actually, on the other hand, he\u2019s seven years old\u2026 not so sure about that upside angle anymore. It be a great story if the old guy could bring it home, but the realist in me believes it just ain\u2019t going to happen\u2026 6\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Sinanju (frosty)<\/SPAN><\/B> – Another closer who failed to fire in the G-1 CA Classic and that\u2019s a bit of a head-scratcher because he ran a big, big race over that track back in March in the G-1 California Handicap. And therein lies the problem — \u00a0<\/SPAN>that race was back in March. Followed that up with the brutal trip to Dubai and ever since the return stateside he\u2019s found it difficult to run those triple digit speed figure races as often as he once had and he\u2019s missed the board in three of his last five. He did win a G-1 in July, but the speed figure earned that day certainly wouldn\u2019t get him the win in here. He\u2019s like many in here who could jump up and surprise, but he\u2019s also tough to recommend based on his recent bout with inconsistency\u2026 7\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Scoobs Connection (lilscoobi)<\/SPAN><\/B> – The morning-line favorite has won nearly half his starts and has posted big speed figures in his last two, so you know he\u2019s good and ready for this\u2026 but he\u2019s not a stone-cold lock either. He\u2019s never won a race longer than a mile and, in fact, he\u2019s never even hit the board going this distance. If your money was on him, wouldn\u2019t you like to see at least one win at this distance? Or even one on the board finish at this distance? Respect what he\u2019s done, but can\u2019t endorse him until he shows he really wants to run this far\u2026 8\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Al Hirt (zooomr)<\/SPAN><\/B> – Our other three-year old in the field is coming off a so-so effort in the G-1 Travelers Stakes (despite a career best speed figure) and he\u2019s got the same problem as Tell Me When To Go <\/B>— speed figures that wouldn\u2019t get him anything more than another so-so result this week and the improbability that he can improve on them because he\u2019s facing elders for the first time. He\u2019s a nice horse who\u2019ll win his share of races, but if he can\u2019t win G-1\u2019s against his own generation, I don\u2019t see how he can win them against older horses\u2026 9\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Squal Me Halo (binzaman)<\/SPAN><\/B> – It appears his best is behind him — he\u2019s closing in on two million in earnings, but much of that was earned last year as a three-year old when he won three G-1 races. Two of those victories came back-to-back just over a year ago with identical 110 speed figures, but this year he\u2019s only been able to duplicate that number in a pair of minor stakes races, both of which account for his only trips to the winner\u2019s circle in 2006. He\u2019s lost his last two G-1\u2019s by a combined 34 lengths, but there is one ray of light to point out — he might just be quickest out of the gates in this field and probably has only Tell Me When To Go <\/B>to wrestle the lead from… a gate-to-wire try might be an option for this guy too. 10\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Unprecedented (jockeymax)<\/SPAN><\/B> – You can excuse the last when he tried turf, but it\u2019s not like he was lighting it up on the main track either. He\u2019s had a nice career (a G-1 win in three different years) and he\u2019s also last year\u2019s winner of this race, but that really appears to be the only reason he belongs in here this week — he\u2019s finished seventh or worse in four straight and the speed figures have been rapidly traveling south ever since his last win (in G-1 company) back in May. Runner-up that day returned to finish twelfth and seventh in back-to-back G-1\u2019s and now makes his living running in minor stakes\u2026 which is probably where this guy should be. 11 \u00a0<\/SPAN>Tempest (oscar)<\/SPAN><\/B> – A repeat of his effort in the G-2 Abraham Lincoln Handicap two back takes this with ease and he likes nine furlongs, but he was upset as the favorite last out by I Come To Play (IRE) <\/B>in another G-2. Has a chance to exact some revenge this week, but this is also his first G-1 start of the year and his last three G-1\u2019s (albeit against tough company) resulted in tenth, eleventh, and twelfth place finishes. He\u2019s not going to get beat by nine or ten horses this week, but he\u2019s also not a given to run back to the big try in Illinois either. Long story short, he is another closer in a field full of them, but he\u2019s been more consistent than most and that makes him a contender\u2026 12\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Fly For Buda (gg)<\/SPAN><\/B> – A Triple Crown contender last year and the Middle Jewel winner really hasn\u2019t fared well against these types of late — he\u2019s missed the board in his last four outings against G-1 types and was last of them all in his only attempt this year. Recent speed figures are better than most (back-to-back 110\u2019s prior to the Abraham Lincoln) of these and, despite the fact that he finished well behind Tempest<\/B> in his big race two back, that makes him a bit of a contender\u2026 to fill out the trifecta or superfecta. 13\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Slither (peeps6)<\/SPAN><\/B> – Regally-bred son of Deputy Minister is the highest finisher in the often mentioned G-1 CA Classic to turn up in here and that alone should make him a contender in your book. He tried this race last year and finished sixth behind Unprecedented<\/B>, but he came into that race with a thirteenth place finish in the G-1 CA Classic, so he\u2019s coming into this a great deal sharper and that\u2019s a commodity a lot of these can\u2019t fall back on. Another who finds himself in the mix this week\u2026 14\u00a0 <\/SPAN>Twist Of Lemon (theaxell)<\/SPAN><\/B> – Third behind Slither <\/B>in California and really it was a pretty productive trip out west for this four-year old by Lemon Drop Kid. He won the G-1 Movieland Shiny Cup out there as well with a big speed figure of 112. Is it possible he\u2019s just a horse-for-the-course out there? Prior to the western sojourn, he\u2019d never posted a speed figure higher than 102 (including four straight 102\u2019s earlier this year) and, like I said, he\u2019s four-years old now — is it possible a four-year old making his thirtieth start this week, this late in the year could be hitting a new stride? Perhaps his early turf attempts preserved his legs a bit\u2026 if you believe he found a fountain of youth out in California, then he\u2019s another contender. Selections – 11 – 13 – 12 A Tempestuous Crew With A Full Slate Of Questions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":159,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3002"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3002\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}