Wow, I can wait to see this one, the 2020 Breeders' Cup
Classic. It might be the best field of horses assembled in a while. Seven of
the 10 entrants have at least one Grade I Trophy on the mantle, including this
year's Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winners.
TIZ THE LAW (PP: 2 ML 3-1) won three Grade I's, the Florida
Derby, the Belmont Stakes and the Travers Stakes. He disappointed in the
Kentucky Derby as the $0.70 favorite, beaten by AUTHENTIC. TIZ THE LAW has been in the barn since his
second-place finish at Churchill Downs. His workouts leading into the Classic
have been very good and he has a history of running well fresh off the bench.
TOM'S D'ETAT (PP: 4 ML 6-1) collected the winners' check in
the Grade I Clark Stakes at Churchill Downs. The seven-year-old was the even-money
favorite for the Whitney Stakes at Saratoga. But his race was over almost as
soon as it started. He went to his knees after the gates opened and couldn't
fully recover, finishing third behind IMPROBABLE. Despite the awkward start, TOM'S D'ETAT still
managed to hit triple-digits on the Brisnet speed gun, his ninth 100+ number in
a row.
HIGHER POWER (PP: 6 ML 20-1) took home the Pacific Classic
Crown in 2019 for his Grade I. It was the last race he won. Since, the
five-year-old has muddled around the track, never hot, never cold, sort of
finishing in the middle of the pack in a nondescript way. He looks good enough
to be close, but not close enough to win.
GLOBAL CAMPAIGN (PP: 1 ML 20-1) got his G1 title in his last
race, posing for photos after taking the checkered flag for the Woodward
Handicap at Saratoga. It wasn't the strongest of fields, but it did produce his
second-best effort in his nine-race career. Both of his top performance came
after a style switch, going from a tactical speed stalker to a frontrunner.
We'll see if he can get the lead here.
IMPROBABLE (PP: 8 ML 5/2) took home the big prize in his
third career start, winning the Los Alamitos Cash Call Futurity and setting him
on the path to be the 2019 Kentucky Derby post-time favorite. He didn't win the
roses, ending his day fifth of 19. He struggled for the rest of 2019. Trainer
Bob Baffert must have found something in his talented horse as he's been on
fire in 2020, winning a trio of Grade I's, the Cold Cup, the Whitney Stakes and
the Awesome Again Stakes. Will the Classic be his fourth in a row?
As we mentioned up top, AUTHENTIC (PP: 9 ML 6-1) got the
better of TIZ THE LAW in the Kentucky Derby for his most recent G1 but also
collected a win in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth to make the Derby his
second. He just missed out on a third, by a neck to SWISS SKYDIVER in the
Preakness. He is in top-form and should be ready to compete.
MAXIMUM SECURITY (PP: 10 ML 7/2) had been winning
everything. He won the 2019 Kentucky Derby, but was disqualified, won the
Florida Derby, the Haskell Invitational, the Cigar Mile, a $20 million race in
Saudi Arabia and the Pacific Classic before falling short to IMPROBABLE in the
Awesome Again Stakes as the ½ favorite. He still popped a good number but
looked tired.
To see how the star-studded Classic shakes out, we asked our
friends at Guaranteed Tip Sheet for their thoughts. They were kind enough to
share their race commentary from their Breeders' Cup Wagering Guide with us.
"This is as a good of a field as we can remember. You can
make a case for seven of the 10 to wear the Classic Crown. TOM'S D'ETAT has strung
together nine consecutive, triple-digit speed numbers. He lost as the favorite
in his last after stumbling at the start. Trainer Albert Stall, Jr hits at 35%
with beaten favs. TIZ THE LAW hasn't run since losing as the chalk in the
Kentucky Derby. He looks to return to form here. IMPROBABLE has won three in a
row and is ¾ of a length from making it four. He can put up some crazy high
late pace figures; could make it four in a row if he's close late. AUTHENTIC is
a Preakness neck away from winning six of seven career starts. He put up his
best speed number in his last and could have a little more in his third start
off the sidelines."
Get today's full picks for all tracks and races at Guaranteed Tip Sheet.
