Eye On Jacob can spur up a surprise in the Brooklyn Handicap
The Grade 2, $200,000 Brooklyn Handicap includes the 2011 winner of the race, Birdrun, and the 2009 Brooklyn winner, Eldaafer, and apart from these two, the bulky field that the race reeled in this year, no other runner has raced over the massive 1 ½ mile distance before.
Initially, twelve runners were entered in the Brooklyn Handicap, but now it will slim down to 10, still a hefty field, because the son of Unbridled’s Song, Balladry and the Bernardini colt, Arthur’s Tale will be scratched from the Brooklyn to run at Betfair Hollywood Park on 8 June, 2012.
However, despite past winners are in the field, the one to look out for is the Zayat Stables owned, Eye On Jacob, who is coming off a massive win in a 6 furlong long first level allowance race when he defeated his rival by a staggering margin of 7 ¼ lengths at Aqueduct racetrack on 18 April, 2012.
The son of A. P. Indy, has generally dwelled in allowance and allowance optional claimers in his career, and yet to make a start in a stakes or graded stakes event. The lightly raced colt in his 8 race career won twice and finished on the money four times.
Bred in Kentucky, Eye On Jacob was trained by conditioner Nick Zito back in 2009, and the runner broke his maiden in 2009, but after that suffered back problems which made his stay away from racing.
Returning after 2 years in 2011, Bob Baffert took him under his wing, but Eye On Jacob never won a race under his schooling, but currently his is under Todd Pletcher’s training.
“We’ve been pleased with the horse both times we’ve run him,” Pletcher said. “He acts like he wants to go that far based on the way he’s handled his mile-and-an-eighth races for us. After his allowance win this is the race we picked out for him.”
“I think he’s a strong galloping type that has good tactical speed,” Pletcher said. “Hopefully, he can get into a good rhythm and Johnny can put him wherever he feels comfortable. I feel like he fits the race very well.”
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