Dirt Mile

The races keep getting better!

The Dirt Mile, in its second running, is back at an actual "mile," here. The synthetic is probably, once again, the biggest boundary and attribute to a great deal of these horses. This may be the best chance for people to make money, with many of my favorite horses looking like they are going to go off at over 10-to-1.

The two big long shots that people should take notice of are Rebellion and Two Step Salsa. They are trained by Breeders' Cup "big dance" trainers, Graham Motion and Julio Canani. These conditioners will have them ready and probably have been pointing to this race for quite some time. Rebellion will be coming late and Two Step Salsa will be trying to keep his head in front of the tough Well Armed the entire race.

Well Armed will most likely outclass most of these horses in the final 3/16th's, but I do not believe he will outclass all of them. Lewis Michael is the one colt who has run huge numbers and comes from a tough trainer who knows how to get a horse ready for any type of race. Lewis Michael is a synthetic-loving full brother to the classy turf mare and dirt champion, Dreaming of Anna, who will be sitting off of a few super-fast speedsters (Two Step Salsa, Well Armed, Slew's Tizzy, Mast Track). Sitting near Lewis Michael, I expect to see the always tough Surf Cat. Headley, once again, has a horse here who would destroy these on a regular dirt course, but is making due with a colt who is classy and tough.

I am not sure why Coa is on Lewis Michael, but I hope that he has him in the proverbial "catbird seat" at the quarter pole, alongside Surf Cat, and ready to run away from them like he did in the Pat O'Brien at Del Mar. This will put an exclamation point on a really gritty and diverse career that you would expect from any offspring of Rahy.

1. (1) Lewis Michael 8-1
2. (8) Well Armed 8-5
3. (5) Two Step Salsa 20-1
4. (2) Surf Cat 10-1
5. (10) Rebellion 15-1