2009 BREEDERS CUP JUVENILE TURF PICKS AND TIPS

These types of races are always exciting because, as we saw on Friday, there is no sure thing when betting on two year-olds. This is another wide open race with a few quality runners attracting attention. Looking at this field, I just can't help but think we're going to see a long odds winner. The main attraction seems to be a chocolate-coloured colt named Pounced who happened to run a solid second against Siyouni in the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp after breaking his maiden against a field of 11 at Newbury back in mid-August. His sire, Rahy, has piles of stellar offspring and I'm just still making up my mind whether this is a progressive horse or not. I think he'll be up in the mix, but this is a challenge to call a clear winner. Dettori on top helps the equation somewhat. He's 9/2 in the ML and 5.0 on Betfair. Kent Desmormeaux takes the ride on Interactif, who is at a slim 4/1 in the morning line but trading at around 5.5 on Betfair. Interactif certainly boasts the momentum coming into this one with two Graded victories on the bounce- the Grade 3 With Anticipation Stakes at Saratoga back in early September where he topped a field of nine and then the Grade 3 Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland in mid-October, tackling a field of twelve that included Codoy.Viscount Nelson is an interesting selection as the A P O'Brien-trained colt is out of American Giant's Causeway, but races primarily in Ireland. He broke the maiden at Leopardstown and built on that with another strike at Tipperary in early August. He made a move down to Doncaster in September for the Group 2 DFS Champagne Stakes where he came in 2nd to Poet's Voice in a field of 7. My issue with Viscount Nelson is that his performances have all been in races with a limited amount of runners. This is a big field and I'm worried he may not know how to handle himself if he gets locked up in the middle. My selection for this one is likely to be a longer-shot, 12/1 in the morning-line and 21.0 on Betfair- Kera's Kitten. I think for the price, this could be a cheeky little bet. He's got the right draw and could bottom-end an exactor with one of the favoured runners. If you're feeling especially cheeky, you could always back an All-Kitten Double with Becky's Kitten who is listed at 12/1 as well in the morning line but commanding a Betfair price of 19.5. If you really want to make it a theme, feel free to take that all-Kitten Double and combine it with an all-Bird Exactor in the Classic with Summer Bird and Mine That Bird.