00:00And let's head on over and preview the Whitney, which is going to go as race number 11 on Saturday at Saratoga.
00:07It's a million-dollar race going a mile and an eighth.
00:10We did find out, Scott, that trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Mike Rapoli own both Mindframe and Todd Pletcher trains Mindframe and Fierceness.
00:21So same owner-trainer of those two horses, they entered both Mindframe and Fierceness a few days ago just in case something happened leading up.
00:30But as of now, when we sit here, it looks like Mindframe is not going to run on Saturday.
00:34That's big news, and that's very important because he would have been one of the major players in this race.
00:39Without question, I think as a whole, I like him most of the Todd Pletcher brigade, no disrespect to the others, was drawn down on the inside.
00:47It's going to be very interesting to see him face off against Fierceness.
00:51Maybe we'll see it one day, but it's not going to be on Saturday.
00:55Skippy Longstocking is the next one up.
00:56He's the number two.
00:57He's an 11-time winner who has earned $3.6 million in his career.
01:03He's really, really honest.
01:05But one thing I've kind of seen from him, Scott, most of his victories are when he is a short price.
01:11And I think that just shows that his trainer does a great job of spotting him.
01:15He picks out races for him that are soft and races where Skippy is going to be a major player, like this one that we're watching.
01:22Skippy Longstocking win the Grade 2 Gold Cup.
01:25I don't think he's ever won a race, though, where he's been higher than 9-2 odds.
01:30So it just kind of shows you he is, I don't want to say a bully, but he does take care of business when he's supposed to win those races.
01:36No, he's been perfectly managed by Safi Joseph and his team to earn over $3.6 million thus far with, like you said, out with that huge banner win, but just kind of taking what he gives them and then giving them shots, though, like this against the top tier.
01:53He hasn't taken advantage yet.
01:55The inside draw will be interesting.
01:57His hand might be forced a little bit early, but, you know, you got to think that he at least has a chance to hit the board in here, although probably slight low, slight class level below the top couple.
02:07I think they're still trying to look for his first Grade 1 win.
02:10Highland Falls next up.
02:12He's a Grade 1 winner.
02:13He's a little bit interesting in here, Scott.
02:15He's going to make his second start back as a 5-year-old now.
02:18He's pretty versatile.
02:19He's proven at Saratoga.
02:21Distance, no problem for him as we've seen him win going a mile and a quarter.
02:25And we're getting a look at his recent victory last time out that could probably set him up pretty well for this.
02:31Now, he will have to step up a little bit to compete with horses like Fierceness and Sierra Leone.
02:35White Abario have all run better races than him, but it feels like this horse might still be moving in the right direction.
02:41There is a chance for that.
02:42You know, he clearly wants more ground, like you said.
02:45Good comeback race going shorter than what he wanted to at Aqueduct on the one-turn mile and just still dominating a field he should have dominated.
02:53I think he's up against it again from a class perspective.
02:56I put him in that same tier as Skippy Longstocking.
02:59But I think at this point he's got a little more upside than the other or than Skippy Longstocking because he hasn't really been beaten over and over by that tier.
03:07The number four feels like a long shot in here.
03:09This is a New York Bread Stakes winner who just sort of feels like he's in here to show his early speed.
03:14Yeah, it's tough to make any sort of case for Mama's Gold in this race to New York Bread.
03:19We'll be involved early, you would assume, if he breaks well.
03:22And the plan, you know, for Romero Mirage has to be to go.
03:25But we'll see if he can hang on for any sort of slice.
03:29Sierra Leone is the number five.
03:31He's a grade one winner, the Breeders' Cup Classic winner from last year.
03:35And he really woke back up in the Stephen Foster.
03:38His year this year, Scott, hasn't been all that great up until the Stephen Foster.
03:42A little bit disappointing. He had some physical issues.
03:45He kept getting backed up when he was supposed to start.
03:47But that was sort of the Sierra Leone that we know that comes with a big late closing kick last time out.
03:54And if they go fast early, I expect him to come running.
03:57He will always come running in some capacity, but I think he's a dressed up horse.
04:01He never really was a big win candidate, even though it looks like it after the Kentucky Derby.
04:06Other than the Breeders' Cup Classic, sure, the biggest race of the year,
04:09but also the biggest setup for Sierra Leone of the year.
04:13His last couple of efforts, he has not moved forward as a three-year-old or three-year-old into his four-year-old campaign.
04:18And he was never going by mind frame in that race.
04:22So at two to one on the morning line, I think Sierra Leone up against it from a win perspective.
04:26I have him in more of the underspots as well.
04:29Disarm is a grade three winner.
04:31Back in 2023, he's fourth in the Kentucky Derby.
04:34He's second in the Travers, and it feels like he's going to have a breakthrough year his next year as an older horse.
04:40And he just hasn't put it all together as an older horse now.
04:43He has a couple okay races, but just never really stepped forward off that three-year-old form.
04:48Yeah, it's interesting.
04:49Hall of Fame last week was a similar horse a year younger, I believe,
04:52but always was supposed to be ready for that next big race.
04:56Disarm really has gotten slower in his races.
04:59This is a horse that barn was very high on Steve Asmussen, really wanted to push him towards the Derby as a three-year-old.
05:06But I think a horse that really is going to need things to go his way to even hit the board against this kind of group.
05:11What do we do with White Ibarrio, Scott?
05:13He is the Breeders' Cup Classic winner from a couple years ago.
05:16He won the Whitney a couple years ago as well in 2023.
05:20He had a really high speed rating in that race.
05:24So we know he's capable of big races when he's on his best.
05:28If he's a decent price, if he is in that four-to-one-ish, five-to-one-ish range,
05:33he might be an interesting value play in here because he is just a horse that you know can get the job done on his best days.
05:41That's it.
05:41I think it's all key with price with White Ibarrio.
05:43If he's a significantly third price behind Fierceness, who we'll talk about in a moment in Sierra Leone,
05:49I think he's a good bet.
05:50But, you know, you have to make that bet knowing that he could put in another clunker very easily,
05:55but he did win this race two years ago.
05:56We move to Contrary Thinking.
05:59He is owned and trained by the same owner and trainer of Sierra Leone.
06:02It feels like he's in here, Scott, to be what they call a rabbit,
06:06to be a horse who goes to the lead early and sets the race up for Sierra Leone.
06:11Yeah, and I don't even know if they need a rabbit in this race,
06:13but it should make sure they have an honest pace without question.
06:17You're going to need to have Contrary Thinking, though, for sure, to use this horse on top.
06:21Number nine is Fierceness.
06:22And remember early in his career, Scott, where the knock against him was that he wasn't consistent.
06:28He would throw in a good race and then a bad race and then a good race and then a bad race.
06:32Now, all of a sudden, this multiple grade one winner has just become a model of consistency.
06:37Even when he doesn't win, he shows up with good performances.
06:39He was second best here in the mile.
06:41And you just know that he's going to be involved early.
06:44I've grown to gain a lot of respect for this horse over the last year or so.
06:48Right.
06:49It seemed like he really needed things his way in the past to be at his best.
06:52Didn't have him in the Derby.
06:54Didn't have him that way in the Holy Bowl.
06:56But we know he's the fastest horse in the race when he's at its best.
07:00Outside trip, outside post, a key for Fierceness for sure in this one.
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