Justify part of exclusive Beyer club

ARCADIA, Calif. – First-time starters rarely earn a Beyer Speed Figure of 100 or higher. The past decade, just 20 debut winners (2-year-olds, early-season 3-year-olds) earned a triple-digit Beyer.

The latest is Justify, whose smashing debut Feb. 18 at Santa Anita earned a 104 Beyer. Justify is entered in a first-level allowance route Sunday at Santa Anita, and while history suggests he is not likely to reproduce his debut figure, history also suggests Justify will be tough to beat.

Seventeen of the 18 triple-digit debut winners that started again had their second-start Beyer decline, by a median of 12 points. Nonetheless, 11 of the 17 won their second start. Maclean’s Music did not start again. Below is a list of the 20 triple-digit debut winners and how they fared in the second start of their careers.

Horse	Date, Track	Beyer	Next start	Beyer	Finish (Odds)
Elusive Heat	10/12/08, BEL	103	1/4/09, GP	92	2 (1.10-1)
Quality Road	11/29/08, AQU	101	1/10/09, GP	89	2 (7-10)
Uncle Mo	8/28/10, SAR	102	10/9/10, BEL	94	W ($2.40)
Travelin Man	1/6/11, GP	106	2/26/11, GP	86	2 (7-10)
Bind	2/19/11, FG	105	3/26/11, FG	91	2 (1-10)
Maclean's Music	3/19/11, SA	114	(-)	(-)	(-)
Overdriven	7/1/11, BEL	100	7/24/11, SAR	93	W ($2.60)
Bourbon Courage	2/3/12, FG	102	3/24/12, FG	100	W ($2.60)
Mamma Kimbo	2/18/12, SA	101	4/11/12, OP	94	W ($4.80)
Graydar	4/8/12, GP	100	9/15/12, BEL	85	3 (1.35-1)
Thermal Cat	4/11/12, HAW	102	5/5/12, CD	93	2 (2.60-1)
Kauai Katie	7/20/12, SAR	100	8/12/12, SAR	84	W ($2.80)
Little Distorted	10/28/12, BEL	101	1/1/13, GP	62	3 (1.20-1)
Midnight Lucky	2/16/13, SA	100	3/24/13, SUN	94	W ($2.60)
Declassify	4/6/13, SA	101	6/8/13, BHP	104	W ($2.80)
Havana	8/23/13, SAR	102	10/5/13, BEL	93	W ($7.20)
Khozan	1/24/15, GP	102	2/22/15, GP	88	W ($2.10)
Lightstream	3/6/16, GP	103	4/17/16, KEE	86	W ($4.60)
Strike Power	12/23/17, GP	102	2/3/18, GP	87	W ($3.60)
Justify	2/18/18, SA	104	(Entered Sunday, SA)	(-)	(-)