Two of the supposed major benefactors of a rail bias at Churchill Downs on Breeders' Cup day came back over the weekend with explosive performances.

Premium Tap, who got a ground saving rail trip in the Classic to finish third behind Invasor and Bernardini, crushed his competition by seven lengths in the Grade I Clark Handicap. He was much the best and ran a monster 1:47.1 for 9f for what should be a 115+ Beyer figure. He picks up his second Grade I win and figures to be a top contender in the Handicap division in '07 along with Invasor. Pleasant Colony threw late developers and this 4yo grandson (by Pleasant Tap) fits the mold. He was running Beyer figures in the mid-90s against conditioned claimers in the spring before he jumped into stakes competition. His win in the Woodward was a surprise at 31-1 and he was an easy throw out for me in the Classic. I had hoped to beat him in the Clark with It's No Joke (who ran against the "bias" on the Breeders' Cup undercard) but he was not in the same class as the winner (and a bad break didn't help). I won't be fooled again - this guy is legit.  

Thor's Echo, who broke from the "advantageous" one hole on BC day and was three wide in the stretch to win the Sprint, solidified his hold on the Eclipse award for top sprinter by winning the Grade I DeFrancis Memorial at Laurel. Thor's Echo rated behind the front runners, forced his way past Crafty Schemer at the sixteenth pole and had enough left to repel a late charge from Diabolical. Attila's Storm (my pick), who was wide in the BC Sprint, dueled between rivals and faded to seventh. Nightmare Affair closed to finish third in the DeFrancis Memorial matching his third place finish in the BC Sprint (up the rail).