Haskell and Jim Dandy

   With the 3 yr old situation as muddled as ever we may finally see one step up and assert itself. The next step after these two races would be the Travers followed by the JCGC and then the Breeders Cup. Right now I only see one 3 yr old horse that, in my opinion, has the goods to handle the derby distance of 1 1/4 and it's not Shack.
   I am still, being as they are still 3 yr olds, sticking with pedigree handicapping coupled with their performance so far.
   Even though the Haskell looks, on paper, to be the more competitive of the two races, I think the strongest horse is in the Jim Dandy. I have drawn a line through the Belmont because of the track condition that day. I watched the whole card on Belmont day and don't recall a closer making up any ground at all except for Animal Kingdom after his terrible start. The first 4 finishers in the Belmont were all right up there in the stretch and no closer gained on any of them. If any front runner couldn't hold on in that race they never will. Shack went awfully slow early in the Derby and still faded at the end. In the Preakness he was able to back the pace way down and barely held on.
   Between both of these races I only see a couple of legit colts capable of getting the longer distances, and to go to the BC or to be 3 yr old of the year, it's going to have to be one that steps up to the plate and so far I haven't seen but one that I think has the ability to do so and that's Alternation. We have seen no where near his best yet, and if he starts to run the way I think he can, we may be looking at the 3 yr old champ.

The Haskell:
1- Coil............................this is about the only one I see with an upside...has a lot of speed but with blinkers off Garcia may be able to rate him....poly to dirt horses usually show big improvement in speed ratings for Baffert and he seems to own the Haskell
2- Shackleford.................probably the horse to beat but his speed has to be very carefully rationed.
3- Joe Vann.....................seems to be strictly a front runner...has a really nice pedigree and could take them a long way at big odds.
4- Ruler On Ice...............always seems to get a piece of the action...love his pedigree...
5- Astrology....................Asmussen horses almost always run their race...have to throw out last...may get a piece but doesn't seem to have the grit to win.
6- Pants On Fire.............another with nice breeding but is an in and outer...could be there on best race.

Jim Dandy:
1- Alternation.................really nicely bred....early on I had him right behind Archarcharch who I really thought would win the Derby till he broke down...had 1 bad race in the AK Derby but had a very rough trip in that one but was coming anyway...if not a bit short I think it's an easy win for him.
2- Stay Thirsty...............he may finally be close to running to his potential...great pedigree
3- Dominus...................looks to be the one to catch...lightly raced...never worse than second.
4- Scotus......................another steady lightly raced colt...sits just off the pace and may be in good position to repeat.

And that's the way I see it!
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