Horses of Interest for the Breeders' Cup Future Wager

Pool 2 of the Breeders’ Cup Classic Future Wager will be open through Monday, September 5, at 6:30 p.m. (ET). The wager consists of 23 individual entries, as well as an ‘all other entrants’ option, and I will offer my opinion on a few horses that might be worth making a play on.

There are no fewer than nine horses that will be running this weekend, so finding great value with any of those who might register a big performance could be difficult. I am more focused on a trio of dynamos who will not be in action until later in the season.

#13 Happy Saver (30-1), one of several contenders for conditioner Todd Pletcher, has run very well against top company while runner-up in each of his 2022 assignments to date. The five-year-old son of Super Saver earned a lifetime best 110 Brisnet Speed figure when second best in the Whitney S. (G1) at Saratoga most recently, and he is a genuine chestnut who has run well in each of his career outings to date. Finishing behind Flightline and Life Is Good in his last pair is nothing to take for granted, and his lone Grade 1 triumph came at the 1 1/4-mile distance, too.

Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner #22 Taiba (30-1) has accomplished quite a bit from just four career outings to date and has obvious room for improvement for conditioner Bob Baffert. The son of superb young sire Gun Runner was a gallant second in the Haskell S. (G1) in his latest endeavor and continues to train like a horse with a higher ceiling. He appears to have no distance limitations, and I believe that the uber-talented colt will be peaking as we approach the Classic.

I’m not certain that #14 Hot Rod Charlie (20-1) is of optimal value at this morning-line price, but he should drift up to a bigger price as the Pool concludes, in my opinion. Regardless of his number, the Oxbow colt is a consistently excellent performer who has been facing the best of his generation for three seasons while building a very good resume. Trained by Doug O’Neill, the four-year-old Grade 1 winner was a strong third in the Whitney in his second appearance since returning from Dubai, and he can easily move forward in the coming months. And, the fact that he finished a big second in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) at Keeneland bodes well for his chances to thrive on the surface once again in November.