Iroquois J

AMERICAN
GRADED STAKES PREVIEWS

Sunday’s Iroquois S. (G3) at Churchill Downs looks very contentious for the
runner-up spot. Hopeful (G1) winner DUBLIN (Afleet Alex) has a big class edge on his 11
challengers, and his 4-1 odds on the morning line looks unrealistic. He could
easily be less than 2-1 by post time, but we can’t go against the favorite.

Trained by Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, Dublin finished fourth in his first
career appearance at Churchill and then broke his maiden by 3 1/4 lengths at
Saratoga. The chestnut rolled to an impressive two-length score in the
seven-furlong Hopeful next out, striding out tremendously at the finish, but he
never got untracked last time in the Champagne (G1), checking in fifth. He’s
recorded a couple of works since then at Churchill and should appreciate the
one-mile distance in this spot. We’ll look for him to bounce back with a superb
showing.

THREE DAY RUSH (Harlan’s Holiday) broke his maiden when capturing the N.A.T.C.
Futurity at Monmouth Park last time, and the new addition to Todd Pletcher’s
stable garnered an excellent 96 BRIS Speed rating in his last start. He’ll be a
forward factor from the start under Edgar Prado, and we’ll give him the best
chance at an upset of the favorite.

SOARING EMPIRE (Empire Maker) is another Monmouth shipper who we will use in
the top three. The Cam Gambolati pupil rallied from off the pace to win going
away by 3 1/4 lengths in a maiden special weight last time, registering a 96
BRIS Late Pace and a 95 BRIS Speed rating, and we won’t be surprised to see him
carry that form forward in his stakes debut. Eddie Castro will retain the mount
on the promising colt.

RAGING WIT (Distorted Humor) exits a good second to Breeders’ Cup Juvenile
Turf (G2) contender Interactif (Broken Vow) in the grassy Bourbon S. (G3) last
time, but the Bill Mott colt will be making his dirt debut from the rail here.
We like the addition of Julien Leparoux and the morning-line odds (12-1), and
we’ll throw the stalker into some exotics.

FIST OF RAGE (Consolidator) overcame traffic trouble to win his debut at
Keeneland last time, getting up by a nose for Kenny McPeek, and Kent Desormeaux
will return to the saddle on the chestnut. The late-running colt will
probably get enough pace up front to set up his late rally, so consider him for
the top three. BRASSY BOY (Storm and a Half) also merits some consideration for
the exotics, winning two starts at Churchill before a third in the Bashford
Manor (G3) in early July, and he returned from a freshening with a decent second
in a restricted event at Louisiana Downs last time. We’re concerned that he’s
never been past six furlongs and will have to stretch out a quarter-mile in this
spot, but the Arkansas-bred remains a viable contender for a minor award.

THISKYHASNOLIMIT (Sky Mesa) is eligible to outperform our expectations, but
he’s faltered pretty badly in the stretch the last two times. The Steve
Asmussen-trained colt appears to be training well for this appearance, and we
can’t completely dismiss his chances for the top three. GLEAM OF HOPE (City Zip)
brings a three-race win streak into this event, but his BRIS numbers are too low
for us to recommend his chances.

CALL SHOT (Tale of the Cat) has raced exclusively on synthetics and doesn’t
show any dirt works. The colt has shown some promise in his three career starts,
but he’s too much of an unknown for us. UH OH BANGO (Top Hit) figures to show
speed off his runaway score in the Prairie Meadows Freshman S. last time, but we
can’t recommend the Arizona-bred’s chances at this level going eight furlongs.

COMEDORO (Posse) will come out winging it from his outside post, but we can’t
envision him sustaining his speed. OH CHARLIE BOY (Canadian Frontier) turned in
two solid efforts on dirt against lesser before an unplaced effort against
stakes rivals on the Tapeta last time. We’re willing to throw his last out, but
the gray colt still has class concerns in this spot.