Union Rags Headlines 2011 Breeders Cup Juvenile
- By A.J. Ryder on October 19, 2011 15:39 GMT
As the world championships of horse racing draws nearer by the day, one of the most fascinating portraits beginning to emerge is the dominance of Union Rags over the rest of the two-year-old class. These contenders will be spotted along the Derby trail next year and it certainly appears as though the bay son of Dixie Union, out of a Gone West mare, will be attempting to pull an Uncle Mo and announce his coronation as the prohibitive chalky favourite heading into 2012.
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While his victory in the Grade 1 Three Chimney's Stakes at Saratoga was eye-catching (mostly because he drifted out hard in the stretch and still won handily), it was his score in the Grade 1 Champagne over the distant run-in at Big Sandy that proved his mettle. Winning by over five lengths under a stellar ride from Javier Castellano, he showed a veracity and guile that is sometimes not seen in older horses – such was the maturity demonstrated by the young colt to move right, then left, then right again to draw even and put down the front-running Alpha. Once he had running room in the final 300 yards it was all over.
Having demonstrated his ability over a sloppy track at Saratoga and a faster-playing dirt surface at Belmont, Union Rags looks set to have little concern for ground conditions. This adds to his appeal considerably and it's easy to understand why he's getting backed so heavily at the moment.
As it currently stands, Union Rags is trading at a 3.0 price on the exchanges and a listing as low as 6/4 with several major bookmakers. There is good quality competition on offer but the question remains whether any of them will have progressed enough to match Union Rags, who really does look a class apart even when he shows how green he is on track.
Creative Cause, a two-year-old son of Giant's Causeway, is trading as the secondary favourite by some distance with a 4/1 price across the board. He's been earning plaudits running in California and managed a victory in the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes midway through the Del Mar meet before getting beaten by three-quarters of a length by Drill in the Del Mar Futurity on the closing day. He then bounced back to topple Drill at odds of 19/10 in the Grade 1 Norfolk Stakes at Santa Anita.
It will be interesting to see if a Santa Anita dirt to Churchill Dirt reference surfaces at any point during the race. Watch out for that on the Friday card and, if the track plays similarly the next day, you might be able to capitalize on the West Coast invaders.
Other notables include Dullahan at 14/1, Big Blue Nation at 25/1 and Crusade at an 8/1 price tag.
