Horses to Watch: Follow promising 3-year-olds on dirt, turf

In this biweekly series, racing analyst J. 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.

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Far Bridge

Is Far Bridge one of the most exciting young horses in training? I believe the answer is a resounding “yes.”

A Calumet Farm homebred trained by Christophe Clement, Far Bridge debuted with a giant performance in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special weight over the Gulfstream Park turf course. The bay colt rated in seventh place early on before unleashing a terrific burst of acceleration (running his final five-sixteenths of a mile in about 28.64 seconds) to beat Carl Spackler by a head in the snappy time of 1:39.57 seconds.

This effort looks even better when you consider how Carl Spackler pulled six lengths clear of the third-place finisher. Furthermore, Carl Spackler flattered the performance when he returned to dominate his next start against similar competition by 8 3/4 lengths.

Far Bridge is bred top and bottom to shine on grass; he is a son of English Channel out of a mare by Kitten’s Joy, two of the top U.S. turf sires of the last dozen years. I believe Far Bridge is a Grade 1-caliber turf horse in the making, so I’m excited to see him make his second start in Saturday’s ninth race at Gulfstream Park, a $75,000 allowance optional claimer (post time 4:36 p.m. EST). Sticking to the same course and 1 1/16-mile distance as his maiden win should suit Far Bridge just fine, and I expect he’ll produce another impressive performance.

Tapit Trice

Tapit Trice was one of the most popular horses in Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 4, closing as the 15-1 third individual choice behind Forte (8-1) and Hoosier Philly (11-1). He’ll have a chance to confirm his Kentucky Derby credentials when he starts as the favorite in Saturday’s 11th race at Tampa Bay Downs, the Tampa Bay Derby (G3, post time 5:15 p.m.).

Tapit Trice finished third in his debut, but hasn’t made a wrong move since. His Dec. 17 maiden victory racing one mile at Aqueduct was flattered when runner-up Slip Mahoney finished third in last week’s Gotham (G3). And Tapit Trice’s eight-length demolition of a $75,000 allowance optional claimer on Feb. 4 at Gulfstream Park produced a flashy 99 Brisnet speed rating.

One question mark for Tapit Trice is the fact he’s yet to race around two turns, but his pedigree suggests tackling that configuration at Tampa won’t be an issue. Tapit Trice is a son of three-time leading North American sire Tapit (the sire of Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist, Creator, Tapwrit and Essential Quality) out the Dunkirk mare Danzatrice. Dunkirk finished second in the Belmont, and Danzatrice won three stakes running long, so Tapit Trice should be tough to beat while making his graded stakes debut in the Tampa Bay Derby.

Which horses do you have your eyes on?