9/13 (MTH): $500k Monmouth S.

[Handicappy]

Originally Posted by zippyneedsawin

I don't like Shakis here, he seems to do his best running at the Spa.

Shakis is training very, very well and could pull this one out with Jersey Joe Bravo on Board. However he has not shown up on occasion for no clear reason and if the turf is soft, he tends not to like that. I do think Big Brown will be beaten here and am looking forward to handicapping this more carefully as it will be a great betting race.
No knock on BB but he has not shown the aggressiveness and turn of foot in the stretch he did up to the Preakness. He can be very rank and Monmouth's turf course has very tight turns. Plus he is going against older horses for the first time. There are just too many issues to confront here. I continue to be very puzzled with their choice of this spot as a BC Classic prep for him. He has got his hooves full and then some.