Arlington-Washington Futurity

TRACK BANDIT PREVIEWS

Saturday’s Arlington-Washington Futurity (G3) became wide-open when Sherriff
Cogburn (Vindication) was removed from consideration this week. Only one member
of the eight-horse field has experience against winners, and we’ll tab a turf
debut scorer, ROUGH SAILING (Mizzen Mast), for top honors in the one-mile
Polytrack event.

Trained by Michael Stidham, Rough Sailing made his lone start in a one-mile
turf event at Arlington Park on August 8 and appeared to lose all chance when
being cut off in upper stretch along the rail. The chestnut took up beneath
Michael Baze, altered course diagonally to the outside, and then flew home,
blowing past the entire field to win going away by two lengths. It was an
impressive, electric move, and we hope to see what he can do with a clean trip
on Saturday. If the colt handles the transition to Polytrack, he has a big
chance to remain perfect.

WEEKEND WILDCAT (Lion Heart) was no factor against allowance rivals last time
following a poor start, but the Larry Demeritte trainee is capable of better
with a clean break on Saturday. He ran well when making his career debut over
Keeneland’s Polytrack and captured a key maiden special weight event at
Churchill Downs two back. We expect to see an improved effort and will use the
bay colt in all multi-race wagers.

CALEB’S POSSE (Posse) is the likely favorite following his 2 3/4-length
maiden score last time. The speedy colt battled on the front end prior to
drawing clear in the stretch and is the one to catch in this spot. He might be overbet
a bit and will have to stretch out from 5 1/2
furlongs to a mile, but we won’t be surprised to see him lead wire to wire.

MAJOR GAIN (More Than Ready) offered a solid rally for runner-up honors in
his debut, finishing behind Caleb’s Posse, and is eligible to move
forward off that effort. The stalker appears to training well for this
appearance and merits serious consideration for the top three with his
commendable BRIS Speed and Pace numbers.

IMPERSONATOR (Tale of the Cat) has run well in two appearances over the track
for trainer Wayne Catalano, breaking his maiden by a half-length last time, but will have to
overcome a far outside post, which has been poor in one-mile events this
meet. The chestnut colt didn’t appear to beat the strongest group last time, but
he’s eligible to outperform our expectations with further improvement. WHEEMAWAY
(Victory Gallop) recorded a 100 BRIS Late Pace rating when closing for third in
his debut last time and figures to appreciate the added ground here. He’s
another one to consider for part.

GHETTO CAT (Forest Wildcat) knocked off a soft group of state-bred rivals
last time at Arlington. We’ll give him a race at this level. Maiden BIG BLUE
CABOOSE (Silver Train) is unplaced in three outings and appears overmatched
here.