America's Best Racing. The Jockey Club.

Shanghai Bobby (inside) fought off He's Had Enough to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita Park. (Photo courtesy of Horsephotos.com)

There’s no doubt that in less than two months Shanghai Bobby will be named the champion 2-year-old male of 2012.

Among the spoils will be a rather nice trophy, a hefty stud fee for one day in the future, acclaim as the winter-book favorite for the 2013 Kentucky Derby (G1), and one sizeable bull’s-eye.

Considering that only one of the 28 past Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) victors has gone on to win the Kentucky Derby, it’s altogether logical that it would be fashionable to find someone other than the undefeated “Bobby” when the time comes to place a Future Wager on the Run for the Roses.

Beyond that, as courageous as the son of Harlan’s Holiday might have been in holding off He’s Had Enough by a desperate head, the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile was just a 1 1/16-mile race and the key ingredient in winning the Derby is finding a horse with enough stamina to hold up under the rigors of 1 ¼ miles.

For believers in the Juvenile jinx, in the three weeks that have passed since the Breeders’ Cup there have been a trio of 2-year-old stakes that have featured a promising collection of horses who might one day emerge as threats to the throne now occupied by Shanghai Bobby.

The most intriguing was the $250,000 Remsen Stakes (G2), which was contested on a windy afternoon this past Saturday at Aqueduct.

Overanalyze crossed the finish line first, displaying in lesser circumstances the same spunk Shanghai Bobby showed in notching his championship-clinching victory at Santa Anita Park. The Mike Repole-owned, Todd Pletcher-trained Overanalyze looked like a runner-up in the final furlong, but gallantly dug in and surged to a nose victory.

At 1 1/8 miles, the Remsen is a furlong shorter than the Derby and that extra 220 yards may prove to benefit the runner-up more than the winner. Normandy Invasion made just his third career start in the Remsen, racing 22 days after posting his first career win by 9 ¼ lengths. The son of Tapit made a strong, wide move on the turn and looked like a certain winner at the top of the stretch. But his inexperience showed in the final furlong as he could not get past Overanalyze.

OVERANALYZE (center) OUTFINIHSED NORMANDY INVASION (outside, red cap)

Photo Courtesy of Adam Coglianese/NYRA

Trained by Chad Brown, one of the nation’s best young trainers, Normandy Invasion should benefit from the experience he gained in the Remsen and with continued development and maturity has the potential to emerge as one of the leading Derby candidates.

Later that day, the $150,000 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) provided a 1 1/16-mile test for juvenile runners. The final time of 1:44.47 was not as quick as the Remsen’s 1:50.13, but the key factor in viewing this shorter race was that it took place at the same track where the Run for the Roses will be contested in May: Churchill Downs.

In case you’re wondering, 2010 Derby winner Super Saver was the last Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes winner to triumph in the Run for the Roses.

Uncaptured and Frac Daddy finished first and second, respectively, and were the top two betting choices in a highly predictable order of finish. But much like Remsen, the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes also featured a horse that didn’t make it to the winner’s circle but seems better suited to a longer, more grueling race such as the Derby.

Dewey Square was a fast-closing third, losing by 1 1/2 lengths in his stakes debut, and he appears to be the one to remember from the race when Future Wager begins.

A week earlier, a race with a purse twice the size of the combined worth of the Remsen and Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, the $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot Stakes (G3), produced the kind of paychecks that would have assured the winner of a spot in the Derby under this year’s entry rules. But under the newly instituted points system, Goldencents received just 10 points for his win in the Jackpot and is second behind Shanghai Bobby (20 points).

GOLDENCENTS

Coady Photography

Trained by Doug O’Neill, who captured two-thirds of the Triple Crown this year with I’ll Have Another, Goldencents previously was second to Shanghai Bobby in the Champagne Stakes (G1) and has the credentials to be a major factor on next year’s Road to the Triple Crown.

Behind him came Bern Identity, who rallied from last on the final turn to grab second, and Mylute, who was last in the early stages and hung in the final furlong after moving into second at the eighth pole. Both of them certainly have the potential to improve as the races get longer, but not necessarily richer.

Fourth in the Jackpot was Hightail, who was last seen winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint and seems better suited for one-turn rather than two.

Before the year ends, the CashCall Futurity (G1) on Dec. 15 at Betfair Hollywood Park will offer one more test for a group of precocious juveniles. After that, it will soon be time to turn the calendar and begin the countdown. We’ll be five months away from the Kentucky Derby and the birth of the sport’s newest superstar.

Until then, the chase will go on with Shanghai Bobby on the lead and no shortage of challengers taking aim at that big, bright bull’s-eye.

ROAD TO THE 2013 KENTUCKY DERBY POINTS TABLE