Personally I like Cave's Valley. Hate to be Captain Obvious as I'm certain he'll be the favorite but the Delta Jackpot was a very strong race and the amount of ground he gave up during the first seven furlongs of the race went a long way towards contributing to his disastrous finish. While the Delaware figures certainly have to be heavily scrutinized it does seem like he's run fast enough to win a race like this. The pace scenario just may set up OK because if Pino lets Spanky go and tries to stalk we could see a repeat of the Count Fleet with Cave's Valley taking on the Giant Moon role.
The problem that I have with Barrier Reef was that while his maiden win was undeniably impressive it seems like he ran the same caliber race again in the Count Fleet and was soundly beaten. He probably should be in an n1x since that condition is still available to him but again he is in a stakes race. He has talent, that's undeniable, but he has to move forward.
Just my $.02.
NT
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