Verbal

A small, but competitive field of six sophomore colts are set to line up Friday in Keeneland's GIII Transylvania S. Two-time Transylvania winner Chad Brown saddles a third of the field in Verbal (Flintshire {GB}) and Napoleonic War (War Front). Rallying to a decisive score in his Belmont unveiling Oct. 10, Juddmonte homebred Verbal closed strongly to take Del Mar's GIII Cecil B. Demille S. at Del Mar next out Nov. 28. He is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in this sophomore bow. His stablemate Napoleonic War is the longest shot...

A few hours before Chad Brown saddles Juddmonte's Viadera (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) in search of a title defense in the GI Matriarch S., he will send out that operation's Verbal (Flintshire {GB}) as the likely favorite in the GIII Cecil B. Demille S. at Del Mar Sunday. A homebred son of a freshman stallion raced by these connections, the bay rallied from well back to score an impressive debut victory going a mile at Belmont Oct. 10. His pilot that day, Jose Ortiz, makes the trip west to ride...