Excelsior

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

The second leg of the all-stakes pick four at Aqueduct on Saturday is the
$200,000 Excelsior H. (G3) for older horses at 1 1/8 miles, and bettors might
decide to go several deep here. Our choice to post a mild upset is the South
American import KURBAT (Chi) (Mon Pote Le Gitan), who made a strong impression
when making his American debut in early February.

Winner of his native land’s St Leger (Chi-G1) equivalent in late 2007, Kurbat
made only three more starts there prior to his importation some time last year.
His stateside debut ultimately came in an allowance/optional claimer at Laurel,
and the gelding was up to the task in winning by three lengths while setting a
new track record for the little-used distance of about 1 1/16 miles. We like how
he rated close to the pace that day, and with a dearth of speed in the
Excelsior, that ability could give him the jump on many of his rivals.

BARRIER REEF (Mizzen Mast) exits victories in the Evening Attire H. and
Stymie H. on the inner dirt, and might go favored here. His recent form has been
excellent, though one hard-to-overlook fact is that all five of his career wins
have come on the inner dirt, and not all form is easily transferred from that
surface to the main dirt oval. Thus, he’s probably worth trying to beat at short
odds.

REAL MERCHANT (Chi) (Merchant of Venice) was a distant second to Barrier Reef
in the Stymie. Like Kurbat, he hails from Chile, and the Stymie was only his
second start in this country. He encountered slop in his American debut in
November when a distant third in the Alysheba S. at the Meadowlands, but
improved considerably last time. Interestingly, Kurbat and Real Merchant faced
each other at least three times down in Chile, with Kurbat gaining the upper
hand in their last two meetings.

TRUE RESURGENCE (Yes It’s True) was on or near the lead in the Stymie before
tiring to third, and should be one of the few attending the pace here. Indeed,
GIANT MOON (Giant’s Causeway) appears to be the only other confirmed speed. We
prefer True Resurgence to outlast that rival, and with the Aqueduct surface
typically playing fast on Wood Memorial Day, he might very well last well into
the stretch.

This is the kind of placement ATONED (Repent) should excel at, but the
four-year-old has a history of falling short and settling for minor awards. That
was not the case in the Pegasus S. (G3) last fall, though we’d be surprised if
the pace will be as swift as what he saw that evening. COOL COAL MAN
(Mineshaft), another with back class, has won at a lot of places, but has shown
a particular affinity for Gulfstream Park, where he captured the 2008 Fountain
of Youth S. (G2). His previous attempts in New York leave something to be
desired, though. ALAAZO (A.P. Indy) makes his fourth start since moving to the
Todd Pletcher barn, and the four-year-old just passed his second allowance
condition by rallying from off a slow pace to win by two lengths. He garnered an
impressive 115 BRIS Late Pace rating for that, so he’s not a total tossout if
the fractions are tepid.