b4breeding

One of the classic races and dear to my heart as I saw it first hand and really enjoyed the experience.

The two horses that seem to stand out are McWicked (the McArdle colt trained by two-times Jug winning trainer Casie Coleman) and He’s Watching (the American Ideal colt trained by David Menary).

It’s a tight track and draw can help or hinder a horse’s chances, but to be fair, usually really good horses win the Jug. In the end, the Jug comes down to which horse can perform at his best for the two heats on the same day – and often the winner will run really quick times in both. It’s a race the horse needs to be specifically aimed at and trained for.

Phil Bourke commented on my blog about Three Diamonds and a ton of Adios (written back in April 2012, but I linked to it recently) that He’s Watching has a double up of the great mare Three Diamonds, being by American Ideal from a Real Desire mare. It’s also worth noting that He’s Watching was a $3,000 buy at the 2012 Standardbred Horse Sale, mainly because he was a later smaller horse. What a cracker he has turned out to be!

McWicked is the horse McArdle has been looking for these last few years, a standout. If he’s the winner, it could give the Bret Hanover/Falcon Seelster line one more chance at continuing as a siring line in America.

For my money the beautifully bred Well Said colt Tellitlikeitis could be the sneaky.

This blog was written prior to final fields so forgive me if there is a late scratching.