Belmont's Futurity a Real Toss-Up

Though it is only still in its infancy, the juvenile turf division has become fascinating to follow, and Sunday's GIII Futurity S. is yet another race in which a case can be made for any of the six entrants.

In a race on paper that looks to have an abundance of speed, New York-bred Freewheeler (City Zip) could fall into the perfect trip from his rail draw. The $430,000 Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream breezer was left alone from a pari-mutuel standpoint at 5-1 for his Aug. 30 debut going 5 1/2 panels against state-breds at Saratoga, but he was able to settle a bit off the pace and though he raced a bit waywardly in the stretch, powered home impressively to score by 5 1/4 lengths. The May foal gets John Velazquez in the irons.

Another Miracle (American Pharoah), second to GI Champagne S. hopeful Green Light Go (Point of Entry) in his 5 1/2-furlong bow over the Belmont main track, defeated recent Laurel Futurity S. hero Irish Mias (Sky Mesa) to break his maiden in a rained-off event at the Spa July 24. A 5-2 chance in the Aug. 16 Skidmore S., the $210,000 Keeneland September graduate showed a bit of a rating gear that afternoon and pulled clear late to score by a convincing 1 3/4 lengths. A similar stalk-and-pounce trip could be in the offing Sunday.

Four Wheel Drive (American Pharoah) was all the rage as the 13-10 favorite for the Colonial Rosies S. Aug. 31 and the $525,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga acquisition made no mistakes, attending a good pace before edging clear to best next-out stakes winner So Street (Street Magician) by 3 1/4 lengths.

Restricted stakes winner Embolden (The Factor); Jack and Noah (Fr) (Bated Breath {GB}), a maiden winner returning on nine days' rest; and GIII Sanford S. runner-up Tomato Bill (More Than Ready) round out a contentious sextet.