Boyd's Ed Brown victory shows he may return to Churchill
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It remains, obviously, to be seen what a second trip to Churchill Downs might look like for a 2-year-old colt named Boyd. His first trip, culminating in a sharp Ed Brown Stakes score on Saturday, made it look like Boyd will merit another California-to-Kentucky ship in May.
That could be for a race like the Pat Day Mile or for a more important 3-year-old stakes about five months hence, though early returns suggest Boyd holds a longer suit in speed than in stamina. That, of course, is mere conjecture, especially looking from the outside in, but let there be no question that Boyd has speed in spades.
Boyd aired facing maidens over 5 1/2 furlongs making his career debut and lone previous start Sept. 7 at Del Mar. He won comfortably again over better horses in the Ed Brown, disdainfully turning back a bid from the talented Stradale and going on to a 2 1/2-length victory in the $217,250 contest.
“Obviously he came from 5 1/2 [furlongs] and had a lot of speed,” jockey Flavien Prat said. “The question was could he run the 6 1/2, and he did it today.”
Stradale, defeated and apparently somewhat discouraged, lost second late to Big Dom, who closed from last of four in a race from which Bobrovsky and Ganaas were scratched. By the time Stradale made his bid going to the quarter pole, Boyd already had disposed of his inside pace rival, the talented Gallivant, who could not match Boyd’s pace and retreated through the homestretch.
Gallivant probably prefers racing from behind horses rather than in front of them, but his rail draw required aggressive tactics and Gallivant had the lead, Boyd pressing hard, through a quarter-mile in a modest 22.61. Stradale, meanwhile, briefly fought Joel Rosario for his head, eager to get on with a task at which he would ultimately fail before Rosario wrangled him back to sit third. The half went in 44.69, a quick split that felt like nothing to Prat. Stradale loomed up. Boyd said, “Not today, my friend.”
“I was traveling very well -- almost too well -- all the way around. I took a nice breather and after that he made a good run,” Prat said.
Boyd, off six furlongs in 1:08.93, clocked a 1:15.58 over a fast track and paid $3.48 as the heavy favorite.
Bob Baffert trains Boyd for Amr Zedan’s Zedan Racing, and Zedan purchased the colt at a 2-year-old auction in May for $1,050,000. Bred in Kentucky by Nasser Omihira, Boyd is by Violence, a relatively versatile sire, and out of the unraced Street Boss mare, A Taste of Red. His brother, Microcap, by Wicked Strong, was a solid allowance type who won over a distance as far as 1 1/8 miles. Boyd has far more talent than that sibling. Who knows what path that takes him down the next few months, but it might lead back to Churchill.
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