Race 10 at Churchill Downs | Saturday, November 7 | Post Time: 5:25 PM Eastern

Bet on Sunshine Stakes | Purse: $300,000 | Six Furlongs | Three-Year-Olds and Upward

Top Win Contender(s): C K Wonder (4), Viking (3), Obliteration (7)

C K Wonder (4) has won two straight races and has three wins and one second (by a neck) in his last four of five races on a fast track, which Churchill Downs will be on Saturday. His last race was his best effort, when he earned an 111 Equibase Speed Figure, the highest figure of any horse in this 13-horse field. He has tactical speed, as he was fourth and second after the quarter mile in two of his races, and second and fourth at the half mile. I suspect that Viking and Greenwich Village (who has new blinkers) will be leading first and second, with Tap Me a Song on their heels. That puts C K Wonder in fourth early, and he should rally to win his third straight. At 10/1 start odds, that is fine by me.

If no other horses challenge Viking (3), he has a shot to win his third straight. He won one back after three months off and after he moved to trainer David Fawkes. His first two races this year were two-turn races, but his last two were sprints, as in this race. In both of his recent races, he led from the front, widening to win by four lengths in one and nearly four lengths in the other. He earned 104 figures, but he may have run faster if he had been challenged. He has been away for three months since his last race on August 1, similar to before the first of his two races in July (before in the last week of March). Two of his three recent workouts were scintillating, including a best of 62 (59.6 at five furlongs), and his most recent, 47.6, was the eighth of 161. If no one goes with Viking in the first yards, he could be on his way to another win.

Obliteration (7) put in a relentless rally two weeks ago in the Grade 3 Perryville Stakes at seven furlongs then missed by a neck and a nose. In that race, he started eighth after the quarter pole and was still fourth, five lengths back, and he flew home. Both of his wins this year came at this six-furlong distance, the Chick Lang Stakes in May and the Renaissance Stakes in February, and all his other races this year were longer races. In between those two, Obliteration went to Saudi Arabia, where he finished second in the Group 3 Saudi Derby in a 14-horse field. His three figures this year were 105, 106 and 109, so he is one of the contenders to win this year’s Bet on Sunshine Stakes.

Win bets:

C K Wonder (4) at odds of 3 to 1 or higher.

Viking (3), Obliteration (7) at odds of 7 to 2 or higher.

Exactas: Box C K Wonder (4), Viking (3), Obliteration (7)