The Haiku Handicapper: 2018 Preakness Stakes

Joe Nevills, sales editor for the Daily Racing Form and columnist for Arabian Finish Line, analyzes the 2018 Preakness Stakes field in the form of Haiku; a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.

#1 - Quip
Bypassed the Derby
To be Justify's wingman
Tough break for you, dude

#2 - Lone Sailor
When this colt last won,
Justify still had five months
Until his debut

#3 - Sporting Chance
His nose for trouble
Is negating the upside
He displayed at two

#4 - Diamond King
The local fodder
Cross-entered the Peter Pan
And should have gone there

#5 - Good Magic
Heart-filled runner-up
We'll learn how deep his tank goes
Off two huge efforts

#6 - Tenfold
He'll win some races
But this isn't one of them
Watch him this summer

#7 - Justify
Dominant Derby
Obscured by Zapruder-like
Health controversy

#8 - Bravazo
Outran projections
This crew did it with Oxbow
Encore's tough to see

Prediction
The tables are turned
Good Magic stuns Justify
One, eight fill super

The Haiku Handicapper: 2018 Kentucky Derby

Joe Nevills, sales editor for the Daily Racing Form and columnist for Arabian Finish Line, analyzes the 2018 Kentucky Derby field in the form of Haiku; a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.

#1 - Firenze Fire
Dinked and dunked for points
One turn appears his best fit
This is not his race

#2 - Free Drop Billy
Hard to get too jazzed
When a four-length margin is
Closest loss this year

#3 - Promises Fulfilled
The front of nothing
Still got him nothing last out
A tiring rival

#4 - Flameaway
Never ducks a fight
Prefer him in the Preakness
Love for the Queen's Plate

#5 - Audible
His resume's stout
But future glories could lie
Among the milers

#6 - Good Magic
The Eclipse winner
Did his job in the Blue Grass
Might need one more gear

#7 - Justify
Much-hyped wunderkind
Shrugged off the class jump with ease
Apollo's boots shake

#8 - Lone Sailor
Ran a lifetime best
Off optional claimer loss
Hard to picture it

#9 - Hofburg
Juddmonte Farms doesn't
Mess around breeding cheap speed
If not here, Belmont

#10 - My Boy Jack
The field's deep closer
In tough when the race's best
Have high cruising speeds

#11 - Bolt d'Oro
A stark lack of love
For a two-race hundred-plus
Beyer figure streak

#12 - Enticed
Truly blue-blooded
Sleeper vibes if you forgive
Bumpy Big A trip

#13 - Bravazo
Methinks the truth leans
Toward his ugly last effort
Than Risen Star shock

#14 - Mendelssohn
Top-dollar prospect
Harangued by travel headaches
Ceiling's still sky-high

#15 - Instilled Regard
Survived the bubble
He was there for a reason
Little momentum

#16 - Magnum Moon
Tallied the most points
Showed true colors at Oaklawn
Still a shade of green

#17 - Solomini
Never off the board
But has a nose for trouble
Can't have that luck here

#18 - Vino Rosso
Topped Wood like a pro
Collmus likes saying his name
Could be Todd's third string

#19 - Noble Indy
Not much to pick at
But not enough to enthrall
Keep low on tickets

#20 - Combatant
Always in the hunt
But enters the race seeking
His first stakes triumph

#21 AE - Blended Citizen
Summer potential
But he's just not fast enough
To challenge this field

Prediction
Down goes Apollo
The fervor is Justified
Then Bolt, 14, nine

The Haiku Handicapper: 2017 Breeders' Cup Card

Joe Nevills, sales editor for the Daily Racing Form and columnist for Arabian Finish Line, analyzes each race of the 2017 Breeders’ Cup World Championships in the form of Haiku; a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.

Friday, Nov. 3

Juvenile Fillies Turf
If the turf's not firm
No one touches Happily
Still tough if it's dry

Dirt Mile
Enters the fray fresh
With the Breeders' Cup's top jock
Mor Spirit looks strong

Juvenile Turf
A foreign horse wins
Canada's Hemp Hemp Hurray
In a small upset

Distaff
Stellar Wind looks primed
But winless at the distance
Let's go with Elate

Saturday, Nov. 4

Juvenile Fillies
Hasn't turned a hair
No reason that should change now
Moonshine Memories

Turf Sprint
If not Lady A
It's a jump ball for a price
But it's Lady A

Filly & Mare Sprint
Bella's a monster
Skye Diamonds might be faster
The monster gets caught

Filly & Mare Turf
Eli deserves it
Another Euro buzzsaw
Rhododendron blooms

Sprint
Drefong's greatest test
Comes not from competition
But the Del Mar gap

Mile
Tinkering no more
World Approval found his niche
And hits the sweet spot

Juvenile
A punctual break
Only spiked the win margin
Bolt is no shocker

Turf
Highland Reel boards planes
And runs big in global tilts
His U.S. streak grows

Classic
Asmussen's top Gun
Targets Baffert's battalion
And his aim is true

The Haiku Handicapper: 2017 Belmont Stakes

Joe Nevills, sales editor of the Daily Racing Form and columnist for Arabian Finish Line, analyzes the Belmont Stakes field in post position order in the form of haiku - a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.

#1 - Twisted Tom
Paid for admission
No bad steps since turning three
We've seen crazier

#2 - Tapwrit
Off two troubled starts
But he fought back at Churchill
Live with a clean trip

#3 - Gormley
Not quick, but can grind
Could take home some purse money
Out of attrition

#4 - J Boys Echo
Star-making Gotham
Continues to get smaller
In rear-view mirror

#5 - Hollywood Handsome
Ran a distant fifth
In the Illinois Derby
You're still reading this?

#6 - Lookin At Lee
Proven check-getter
Likely peaked at the Derby
But rarely falls far

#7 - Irish War Cry
Using a classic
As a prep for the Haskell
How deep will he dig?

#8 - Senior Investment
Surprising Preakness
Puts his stock on the upswing
Distance causes doubts

#9 - Meantime
Local prep bridesmaid
Could get the pace to himself
Don't think he keeps it

#10 - Multiplier
Didn't show a lot
In class-climbing Preakness try
This test looks tougher

#11 - Epicharis
Japanese hopeful
Has the tools to make a dent
But his vet reports...

#12 - Patch
Outside post again
But he picks up Johnny V
Stands to take a piece

Prediction
If he's away clear,
Tapwrit will grind out a win
Seven, twelve follow

The Haiku Handicapper: 2017 Preakness Stakes

Joe Nevills, sales editor of the Daily Racing Form and columnist for Arabian Finish Line, analyzes the Preakness Stakes field in post position order in the form of haiku - a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.

#1 - Multiplier
The next horse to turn
The Hawthorne/Preakness double
Wins at my expense

#2 - Cloud Computing
Making his fourth start
Recent efforts don't scream out
"I want this distance"

#3 - Hence
Middling Derby tilt
Still outshines most shooters here
Fourth seems about right

#4 - Always Dreaming
The Derby winner
Lived up to hype at Churchill
The win goes through him

#5 - Classic Empire
Derby rewards trips
Preakness rewards better horse
It could still be him

#6 - Gunnevera
Never been a fan
Of deep closers coming back
After bland Derby

#7 - Term of Art
His closest finish
In a meant-for-dirt stakes race
Is six lengths behind

#8 - Senior Investment
Promising future
Winning nice allowances
This seems ambitious

#9 - Lookin At Lee
Dynamite rail trip
Never seems to fool them twice
When the show moves east

#10 - Conquest Mo Money
Hard not to root for
But he seems to hit his wall
A few panels short

Prediction
Champ Classic Empire
Channels Lookin at Lucky
Four, ten fill the tri