Hanson's Four to Follow on Rebel Stakes undercard

Having given my thoughts on the Rebel (G2), here are other horses of interest on Saturday's card at Oaklawn:

Race 2 - The Lecomte (G3) proved a mess for #8 TOTALITY (8-1). Rank early and running in the mud for the first time, the son of Tapit fell well behind early and stayed there. Stakes-placed full brother to Fantasy (G3) runner-up Taxable deserves another shot against this easier group, and hard not to notice the debut win at Churchill last fall came at the expense of eventual Gotham (G3) hero J Boys Echo.

Race 6 - Things set up nicely for #6 COLONELSDARKTEMPER (8-1) in his six-furlong debut a month ago, and while the general preference would be for horses that debuted and won earlier than he, there appears to be plenty of pace here, too. Son of Colonel John should find the stretch-out to a mile within his scope, and he comes from the productive family of Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Archarcharch.

Race 8 - One of a couple graded stakes winners in the field, #8 MADEFROMLUCKY (7-2) appears to be rounding into his best form after missing a large chunk of 2016. A distant runner-up to American Pharoah in the Rebel on this weekend two years ago, he was a solid third behind Imperative and Stanford in the $400,000 Poseidon at Gulfstream last out despite trouble in the running.

Race 9 - While it's tough to be enthusiastic based on his recent form, #8 WILL MUNNINGS (10-1) is a stakes winner over the track and I'm willing to cut him slack for not keeping up in a much tougher spot last time in his debut for the Moquett barn. That conditioned allowance was won by the now-retired graded stakes winner Alsvid, and the next two home, Sharp Art and Candy Ruby, won their respective next starts earning BRIS Speed ratings of 100 and 102. By comparison, this group seems like one he can be competitive with.

(Adam Coglianese Photography)