Saturday's running of the Maryland Juvenile Championship at Laurel Park will feature 8 up-and-coming 2-year-olds going 7 1/2 furlongs over the main track, and includes the 2nd, 7th, and 9th place finishes from the Maryland Million Nursery back in September.
You could argue that all of these runners still have room for significant improvement, but from analyzing their past performances, the race appears to come down to a handful of contenders.
The favorite is #6 Petercarol, who ships in from Keeneland following a maiden score over a synthetic surface. He's been at Laurel before, and run well, finishing 2nd in the Maryland Million Nursery while still a maiden. That's the race to key on here, and should set the son of Not for Love up in good position to score here.
#5 Morumsco would seem to have his chances improved greatly if some moisture were to develop over the weekend. Yet another son of Not for Love, Morumsco has prevailed in back to back efforts in the slop at Laurel, while his fast track performances were not as impressive. Still, he's throwing bullet workouts, so in all likelihood the horse has improved since those debut efforts.
If you're looking for a price, #7 Our Commander may be your play. The son of Tenpins exits back to back scores with jockey J.G.Ramirez aboard, and the duo will look to make it 3 in a row on Saturday. Also note trainer Gary Capuano's proficiency with 2-year-olds (30%).
I'm going to go for the score with #7 Our Commander on top. I'll put the usual suspects in #5 Morumsco and #6 Petercarol underneath, although I'll probably add in #4 Not Abroad and longshot #3 Regal Warrior to my actual plays, as I feel either of those colts could improve greatly in this effort.
W- #7 Our Commander (5/1)
P- #6 Petercarol (9/5*)
S- #5 Morumsco (5/2)
Best of luck!
