<\/p>\n
A field of twelve three year-olds are set to contest the Grade 2 $300,000 Boston Derby over nine furlongs on the Maryland turf this Saturday.\u00a0 <\/span>Here\u2019s the field:<\/p>\n 1- Cozzane Hill<\/b>\u00a0 <\/span>9\/1 (zibby)<\/p>\n This dark gray colt is stakes winner at the distance, but his best graded stakes effort thus far is a distant fifth.\u00a0 <\/span>His most recent SR is 93, but he has improved off poor efforts in the past. \u00a0<\/span>His lifetime top is 106.<\/p>\n 2- The Stardust<\/b>14\/1 (greatnames)<\/p>\n This son of Generous is a multiple stakes winner and is graded stakes-placed.\u00a0 <\/span>He was among the top two year-old grass horses last year, and has just four starts as a three year-old.\u00a0 <\/span>A front-running router, he seems to have room for further improvement.\u00a0 <\/span>He earned a 98 SR in his last, having bounced off his lifetime top of 104 in winning an overnight stakes here in Maryland two starts back.<\/p>\n 3- Frizione<\/b> 9\/1(lasthope)<\/p>\n A winner of seven races in 15 lifetime starts, this gray colt gets tested for class today.\u00a0<\/span>He comes into this race off a huge stakes win at today\u2019s distance in which he earned a career-best 107 SR.\u00a0<\/span>His trainer, one of the sim\u2019s most veteran and best, has given the colt a nice breather since that big effort in an attempt to avoid a bounce.\u00a0 <\/span>If all systems are go, he\u2019ll be closing from mid-pack.<\/p>\n 4 – Spending Bill <\/b>8\/1(tnilsson)<\/p>\n Another seven-time winner from 15 lifetime starts, this multiple stakes-winning son of Mineshaft is also looking for his first graded stakes score.\u00a0 <\/span>He comes off a handy win in an allowance prep, earning a 99 SR.\u00a0 <\/span>His lifetime top is 102.\u00a0 <\/span>He should be ultra fit after a series of turf marathons and will likely be among the pace-setters.<\/p>\n 5 – Yepes <\/b>7\/1(sonsierra)<\/p>\n This son of Forestry has a graded stakes win to his credit, scoring in the G2 Trojan Horse over 10 furlongs in France two starts back, in which he earned a lifetime best 109 SR.\u00a0 <\/span>This late-runner cuts back slightly in distance for this one.<\/p>\n 6 \u2013 Four Days Later <\/b>9\/1(estreli)<\/p>\n This consistent stakes-winning son of Bernardini has hit the board in ten of his 12 lifetime turf starts and is graded stakes-placed.\u00a0 <\/span>His lifetime top is 102, earned when alone on the front end, and he registered a 96 in his most recent start.\u00a0 <\/span>Gets leading rider V. Elliott.<\/p>\n 7 – Palazzo <\/b>7\/1(lasthope1)<\/p>\n Another from the powerful dixiedotco barn, this son of Medicean reeled off six straight wins in this his three year-old season, but has struggled in graded company in his last two starts.\u00a0 <\/span>He has topped the 100 SR mark in three of his last four, with a career best of 104.\u00a0 <\/span>Should be stalking the pace under slumping rider R. Clink.<\/p>\n 8 \u2013 Septopia<\/b> 10\/1 (scootboy)<\/p>\n This homebred colt makes his stakes debut after a convincing allowance win last time out in which he earned a career-best 103 SR.\u00a0 <\/span>He does his best running from behind and should have a fair pace to aim at if he\u2019s good enough.<\/p>\n 9 \u2013 Alberta Tornado<\/b> 5\/1 (holeinone)<\/p>\n This regally-bred son of Storm Cathas a graded stakes win to his credit, having captured the prestigious G3 Craven Stakes in front-running fashion in April (lifetime top 107).\u00a0 <\/span>Yet another who\u2019ll contest the pace, and his ability to last the nine panels in top company is yet to be proven.\u00a0 <\/span>He\u2019ll be sent off as the favorite despite this question mark.<\/p>\n 10 \u2013 Northern Bay II<\/b> 9\/1 (supapogs9)<\/p>\n One of the more lightly raced colts in the race, with just 8 career starts, this stakes-winning son of North Light has shown steady progress in his three year-old campaign.\u00a0 <\/span>His development reached its peak with a solid stakes win two starts back in which he earned a career high 107 SR.\u00a0 <\/span>He bounced in his last, a Grade 1 event, despite having been freshened, and looks to move forward against another tough field in this one.\u00a0 <\/span>How much more room he has for development is an open question.<\/p>\n 11 \u2013 Bux R Back<\/b> 12\/1 (buxnation)<\/p>\n Another lightly raced colt, the first and only stakes-winning son of bargain sire Valid Indy, and another that gets a class test in this contentious field.\u00a0 <\/span>He needed to beat just three other horses in winning an overnight route stakes in Michigan two starts back, earning a lifetime top 105 SR, then turned back to a sprint in an allowance last time out and ran second.\u00a0 <\/span>A return to his preferred distance will help, but he seems a cut below the best of these on paper.\u00a0 <\/span>The one has obvious talent but still has much to prove.<\/p>\n 12 \u2013 Slammin\u2019 G<\/b> 6\/1 (sweetie)<\/p>\n The second choice in the wagering is a late-developing son of Grand Slam.\u00a0<\/span>Campaigned on the main track in the first 17 starts of his career, he earned black type with a win over a short field in Idaho in April.\u00a0 <\/span>His career has taken a new turn of late, however, with two solid wins over the grass in his last two starts, both allowance races.\u00a0 <\/span>The last was particularly classy, as he showed new dimension in closing from well off the pace to win going away.\u00a0 <\/span>This ambitious spot will reveal his true class, as he has yet to beat a field of this quality on either surface.<\/p>\n In a competitive field of threeyear-old colts, I give a slight edge to Northern Bay<\/b>, Frizione<\/b> and Alberta Tornado<\/b>, but none of these would be a surprise to find in the winner\u2019s circle.\u00a0 <\/span>Best of luck to all.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 12 Three Year-Olds to Go 9 Furlongs on Maryland Lawn<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":383,"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-6523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-previews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6523","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\/383"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6523\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/btb.ehorseracing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}