Tacitus seeks Grade 1 win in Jockey Club Gold Cup

Tacitus seeks Grade 1 win in Jockey Club Gold Cup
By New York Hot List Staff // Friday, October 9, 2020

The Jockey Club Gold Cup has been one of New York’s premier races for decades. Great horses such as Curlin, Skip Away, Cigar and Easy Goer stand out among the stars who have captured the prestigious stakes since 1989. Last year, it proved to be a barometer of success in the Breeders’ Cup as Vino Rosso, who won the Jockey Club Gold Cup only to be disqualified and placed second, rebounded to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic. This year’s group features Tacitus who has finished in the money in some of the sport’s most famous races but is still looking for an initial Grade 1 victory.

Here’s the Hot List picks for the Jockey Club Gold Cup:

The $250,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup, Belmont Park, Saturday, Race 9.

(1) Happy Saver brings an unbeaten record to the ten-furlong JCGC as one of two 3-year-olds in the five-horse field. Trainer Todd Pletcher will go for his first official victory in this Grade 1 while Happy Saver tries to get his first graded stakes win. Pletcher opted to skip the Preakness hoping for a smaller field on his horse’s home track. Irad Ortiz Jr. is expected to be back in the saddle after guiding Happy Saver to his first two wins. (5) Mystic Guide had a breakthrough victory in the Jim Dandy (G2) on closing weekend at Saratoga over two horses that ran in the Preakness including the third-place finisher. This 3-year-old is trained by Michael Stidham and like the top choice will come with better value than the even money favorite Tacitus. (1) Tacitus is listed as a heavy favorite based on his win in the Suburban (G2) and a second in the Woodward (G1) in his two most recent starts. Looking for his first Grade 1 victory, he is a likely winner of this race, but he has had a tendency to finish second and at very short odds does not have good value. (2) Prioritize finished third in the Woodward prompting trainer Jimmy Bond to try the JCGC. The Bond barn had a great Saratoga meeting where Prioritize won an allowance.

Analysis of the other New York Hot List races and the Special Saturday Pick 3 are available free of charge at this website.