Expert Pick of the Week: 2023 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile

Nov 02, 2023 J. Keeler Johnson

Many talented two-year-old Thoroughbreds have assembled for Saturday’s $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) at Santa Anita, a season-defining event that often determines the champion two-year-old male of the year.

A serious case can be made for at least half a dozen horses to visit the winner’s circle. But perhaps the most likely winner is Locked, who hails from the barn of three-time Juvenile-winning trainer Todd Pletcher.

Locked was spectacular in a one-mile maiden special weight during the summer at Saratoga, running the final quarter-mile in a blazing :23.94 to beat next-out maiden winner Drum Roll Please by 7 1/4 lengths. He again showed serious talent when stepping up in class for the 1 1/16-mile Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland, shrugging off a wide journey to wear down the ground-saving The Wine Steward and prevail by half a length.

#9 Locked steps up in class off his impressive win and takes the G1 Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland under @jose93_ortiz for trainer Todd Pletcher! 🔒

🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/zqqpqKq1eu

— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) October 7, 2023

Pletcher swept the 2022 Breeders’ Futurity and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with champion two-year-old male Forte, and he can do the same with Locked. The son of 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner looks like a star in the making and a formidable win threat at Santa Anita.

Timberlake has already run twice against Grade 1 competition, finishing second in a fast-paced Hopeful (G1) before taking the one-mile Champagne (G1) over a sloppy track by 4 1/4 lengths. The Champagne runner-up, General Partner, set a fast pace that day and is eligible to move forward if he gets a more relaxed trip in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

Finishing seventh as the favorite in the Champagne was Fierceness, who made only a mild mid-race move before fading down the homestretch. But in his debut sprinting six furlongs at Saratoga, the Pletcher trainee led all the way to beat a trio of next-out maiden winners by 11 1/4 lengths. If Fierceness gets back to his best in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, he’ll be right in the thick of things down the Santa Anita homestretch.

Expert Pick

An exacta with #6 Locked over #4 Timberlake, #8 General Partner, and #9 Fierceness in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile is the Best Bet of the Week.