Horses to Watch: 5 impressive juvenile winners join the list

In this biweekly series, racing analyst Keeler Johnson shares promising horses from his handicapping watch list, reviewing runners who have recently caught his eye and previewing horses scheduled to run back in the near future.

New to the Watch List

Austere

Half a dozen one-mile grass races were contested at Kentucky Downs on Sunday, and easily the fastest was the Juvenile Fillies. Austere, a Brendan Walsh trainee coming off a fast-finishing debut victory racing 1 1/16 miles over the Ellis Park turf, tracked splits of 22.51, 45.88 and 1:10.19 from third place before taking over to win by three lengths in the snappy time of 1:35.48.

For the sake of comparison, 2-year-old males required 1:38.17 to complete the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile off a similar pace, so it’s safe to say Austere ran a big race. She’s 2-for-2 now and is shaping up as an intriguing contender for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

Recent Watch List winners

Bentornato

Promising juvenile brought his record to 3-for-3 with a runaway victory in the FTBOA Florida Sire Dr. Fager against fellow Florida-breds at Gulfstream Park, pressing the early pace before taking command and drawing off steadily to win by 7 1/2 lengths. Now a two-time stakes winner, Bentornato completed six furlongs in 1:11.44 seconds and looks like a star sprinter in the making.

Talented California-bred 5-year-old smashed his first start against non-state-restricted competition in a $40,000 allowance-optional claimer on Sunday at Del Mar, finishing fast (final furlong in about 11.11 seconds) to win the five-furlong turf sprint by 1 3/4 lengths in 55.81 seconds. It was an exciting performance off a 15-month layoff, though the Equibase result chart notes Bolden “walked into the van following the race,” so here’s hoping he comes out of this race in good shape.

A 2-year-old son of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Oscar Performance, Endlessly looked like a definite Breeders’ Cup type when rallying to victory in the Del Mar Juvenile Turf (G3) at Del Mar. After rating in sixth place behind sharp fractions of 22.71 and 46.61 seconds, Endlessly unleashed a strong rally (running his final quarter-mile in approximately 23.67 seconds) to sweep past the leaders and score by 2 1/4 lengths. Unbeaten in two starts, Endlessly looks like a talented young turf star for trainer Michael McCarthy.

Tracked stablemate Mirahmadi through fractions of 22.18 and 44.75 seconds in the seven-furlong Del Mar Futurity (G1), then wore down the pacesetter in the homestretch to prevail by three-quarters of a length in 1:22.65 seconds. Now undefeated in three starts, including the Best Pal (G3), Prince of Monaco wraps up the Del Mar meet as the nation’s leading 2-year-old male. The future looks bright for this speedy son of Speightstown.

Daughter of four-time champion Beholder picked up her second win from as many starts when dominating the seven-furlong Del Mar Debutante (G1) at Del Mar. Tracking fast fractions of 21.85 and 44.45 seconds did nothing to tire Tamara, who seized command and drew off down the homestretch to dominate by 6 3/4 lengths in 1:22.41. She’s looking like an early favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, a race Beholder won in 2012.

Upcoming entries

Copper Em

What do we make of Copper Em? She trounced her debut sprinting five furlongs at Ellis Park, wiring a maiden special weight by 4 1/4 lengths. But then she finished last by a wide margin in the Adirondack (G3) at Saratoga. Copper Em’s inconsistent form is tough to read, but perhaps switching to turf can trigger a rebound at double-digit odds in Wednesday’s ninth race at Kentucky Downs, the Untapable (post time 5:54 p.m. ET).

Here is my complete, updated list of Horses to Watch.