We asked Steven Crist of the Daily Racing Form for his early thoughts on the big races.

Distaff:

"I don't see Storm Flag Flying and Ashado as big threats to Azeri. The favourite has already shown she can handle the former while Ashado is a three-year-old who hasn't run well enough to beat her elders yet. I think the main danger to Azeri is Island Fashion. She is a filly who made an ill-advised trip to Japan which consumed a lot of her season. When she was good earlier in the campaign she looked the one to make a race of it with Azeri."

Juvenile Fillies:

"Sweet Catomine is a legitimate favourite. She won the Oak Leaf Stakes well but her time came up no faster than a bunch of fillies who hit the line together in the Darley Alcibiades at Keeneland or Balletto in the Frizette. She is a deserving favourite but it is a competitive race and I am not sure Mona Lisa doesn't have an each-way chance after her run in the Fillies' Mile."

Mile:

"The European team should win this - they usually do. Your horses are simply better over this distance and on this ground. With Six Perfections and Whipper they look to have the edge again."

Sprint:

"The Sprint championship in this country has already been decided with Pico Central looking superb in winning the major races. He would have had to be supplemented into this for $200,000 and they are not going to do that. What we are left with is the best of the rest. It is a wide-open race, great for gambling in, but not as a championship event."

Filly & Mare Turf:

"Light Jig doesn't look to be in the same league as Ouija Board. I think on her best day and given soft turf then Wonder Again may be best of the Americans. It was a very weak field that Light Jig beat last time and while she is a nice filly, she isn't anythng special."

Juvenile:

"This is a race that came up very strong this year. It is a small but select field. Last year all the winners of the Grade One preps stayed at home. It was a very weak race, won by a mediocre horse and no horses from that race amounted to anything as three-year-olds. This year you have the Norfolk winner in Roman Ruler, the first three in the Champagne, led by Proud Accolade, and the Breeders' Futurity winner. It is a very good race and the European raiders may well find themselves overmatched. They should have come last year!"

Turf:

"Kittens Joy could be the one to beat. Magistretti was third in the Arlington Million and very impressive when winning the Man O'War. While it looked as though Kittens Joy manhandled him last time, I don't really think Magistretti ran his race. He was closer to the pace, always chasing, and never got the chance to unleash his stretch run. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he reverted to his Man O'War form and ran a big one."

Classic:

"The two main dangers to Pleasantly Perfect in terms of talent are Ghostzapper and Roses In May. The question with both of them is whether they really want a mile-and-a-quarter? They have had their brilliant days at a mile and an eighth but both are front runners and I think that last furlong will make the difference. I expect to see Pleasantly Perfect charging past them down the stretch. Funny Cide is back to his best and is a wonderful, gritty racehorse. He isn't a world class Grade One horse though. I would love to see him get up for second or third but that is the best he can hope for."

Steven Crist writes for the Daily Racing Form in America.