ESPN Horse Racing

Discovery Handicap
Saturday, Nov. 22, Aqueduct

The Low-Down: John Velazquez must be in the gift-giving mood early this holiday season, as he opts to ride out of town in Churchill's River City Handicap instead of staying home for a potential fourth straight Discovery Handicap score. All eyes Saturday will be on LIEUTENANT RON, whose stop-and-start career has been highlighted by blowout victories that have teased his possible stakes stardom. He gets his chance in the 1 1/8 miles Discovery, his first try around two turns and a full quarter-mile farther than he's ever run.

Our Eyes: With a short run to the first turn, post eight won't be an impossible hurdle for LIEUTENANT RON, but it won't make his trip any easier. Rail-drawn WISHFUL TOMCAT has early speed and should be called upon by Ramon Dominguez. PREMIUM GOLD is drawn just to the inside of the favorite and likely will show some gas for Richard Migliore. BIG TRUCK can also be part of the mix, though certainly not a speed horse. But we do recognize the aggressive nature of Eibar Coa and have seen him try to take the race to a prohibitive favorite in the past.

Those sitting off the pace with a chance to benefit include the one-two finishers in the G3 West Virginia Derby, Michael Matz's READY SET and Nick Zito's WEB GEM. Jockey Rajiv Maragh rode both to runner-up finishes last time out, but opts for WEB GEM in the Discovery. Matz turns to a reliable partner in Jose Lezcano; so there's no drop-off whatsoever.

Don't scoff at the New York-bred THAT'SRIGHTOFFICER. His runner-up try against older horses in the Empire Classic was strong at this distance, and that race looked even better when Stud Muffin returned to run an outstanding race in open company last week in the G3 Stuyvesant Handicap.

The Bottom Line: The two-turn, 1 1/8 miles distance appears to be a separator here, and for that reason I'll go with the proven commodities at the trip. READY SET rates the top choice in exactas over THAT'SRIGHTOFFICER and WEB GEM.