Brant, purchased for record price in March, dazzles in debut

DEL MAR, Calif. - Brant, bought for a record $3 million as a 2-year-old in March, delivered an eye-catching performance to win his debut in a maiden race at 5 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar on Saturday.

Ridden by Flavien Prat, Brant stalked pacesetter Civil Liberty through a quick opening quarter-mile in 21.56 seconds. Prat moved Brant to a three-wide position on the turn, guiding the colt to the lead in early stretch, after a half-mile in 44.78 seconds.

Brant ($3.60) cruised to victory by 5 1/4 lengths, finishing in 1:02.63. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 101.

“We hadn’t really turned him loose in the morning,” trainer Bob Baffert told Del Mar publicity.

“He ran like a professional today. He sat off the pace, and that’s what you like to see.”

Civil Liberty, the 5-1 third choice in a field of 10, held second, finishing 3 1/2 lengths ahead of 3-1 Balboa, also trained by Baffert.

Civil Liberty, trained by Doug O’Neill, and Balboa had their first starts on Saturday.

Brant, a Gun Runner colt owned by Amr Zedan, was purchased for $3 million at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales of 2-year-olds in-training, a record price at the prestigious auction.

Brant may run in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity at seven furlongs, the premier race for juveniles at the Del Mar summer meeting. Baffert has won the $300,000 Del Mar Futurity a record 18 times, including the last four. He first won the race in 1996.

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