Expert Pick of the Week: 2023 Jerome Stakes

An octet of sophomores will travel one mile on the Aqueduct dirt in Saturday’s $150,000 Jerome S. The 2023 Road to theKentucky Derby event will reward the top five finishers with qualifying points on a 10-4-3-2-1 structure. 

Arctic Arrogance, one of two contenders in the field for conditioner Linda Rice, has been first or second in each of his four lifetime tries and rates as the one to beat in this tussle. The colt is the Expert Pick of the Week.

A sharp winner on debut at Saratoga in September, the son of Frosted was a smart runner-up in the subsequent Bertram Bongard S. at Aqueduct prior to earning his initial stakes triumph in the Sleepy Hollow S. on Oct. 30. In his most recent engagement, the Kentucky-bred was a fantastic second in the Remsen S. (G2), finishing more than 11 lengths clear of his nearest pursuer, on the surface to cap his fine two-year-old campaign. 

Arctic Arrogance has posted a pair of solid morning drills in advance of his three-year-old bow, and he possesses excellent early speed to handle the cutback in distance with ease on Saturday, as well. Regular pilot Jose Lezcano will be in the silks once again and have the gray tracking the pace from second to the turn for home before being asked for his best. 

Chad Brown’s Neural Network gave the impression of a horse with a high ceiling in his dominant, five-length tally at first asking on this course. The son of Cloud Computing handled a muddy surface on debut with aplomb while registering a robust 108 Brisnet Late Pace figure, which hints that he will have little problem navigating eight furlongs while making his black-type debut. Bred in the Empire State, the dark bay colt has posted a handful of morning moves in preparation for this test and will be saving ground throughout with Manny Franco inheriting the ride. 

An exacta with #6 Arctic Arrogance on top of #1 Neural Network in the Jerome Stakes is the Best Bet of the Week.