Breakout Beyers: Another monster for Baffert

Each week in this space, the top Beyer performances by maiden winners will be featured and analyzed. Click here for a complete archive.

Laurel River

April 3, 4th race Santa Anita, MdSpWt76k

Beyer: 92

6 1/2f 1:15.66, 1st by 4 1/4 lengths

b. c. 3, Into Mischief – Calm Water, by Empire Maker

Owner: Juddmonte Farms

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Breeder: Juddmonte Farms

Was 13-10 in career debut last October but clunked home a fading fifth. Maybe he needed time to grow up (and yes, he’s a big, strong fellow), maybe first Lasix held the key to this massively improved performance, or maybe some combination of the two. A front-end trip but not an easy trip as the odds-on favorite led with Laurel River sticking about a half-length behind while racing along the fence. Had no issue holding that potentially intimidating position, a very good sign in a young horse. Jockey John Velazquez asked him to punch on through at the quarter pole, Laurel River complied, and while drifting out a couple paths, he maintained his lead over three pursuers, beginning to draw clear at the furlong pole and widening to the wire. Third foal from dam who was 0 for 8 in her career but is a sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Emollient and stakes winner Hofburg. The pedigree, stretching back further, is very strong, with plenty of stamina supplementing the ample speed imparted through uber-sire Into Mischief. Like so many Baffert-trained youngsters, he’s both fast and bred to stretch out, and this was the sort of maiden win one sees from a future stakes horse.

Honey Jar

April 4, 3rd race Santa Anita, MdSpWt61k

Beyer: 82

6 1/2f turf 1:15.72, 1st by 3 1/2 lengths

ch. f. 3, Kantharos – Sweet Spell, by Candy Ride

Owner: Bo Hirsch

Trainer: Michael McCarthy

Breeder: Bo Hirsch

This was a sweet second-start win for a Bo Hirsch homebred trained by Michael McCarthy, same connections as the very nice filly Ce Ce. Kantharos is an excellent turf-sprint sire, and the filly debuted turf-sprinting, showing speed and holding second, and here she was held by Flavien Prat to race second behind a pacesetter. The leader was working going into the far turn while Honey Jar raced under a hold, and when Prat moved his hands a touch past the three-furlong marker, his mount quickly ranged alongside the filly in front of her. Hand-moving, in fact, was all it took to get Honey Jar home, albeit of the more vigorous type at the three-sixteenths pole, where Honey Jar lengthened very encouragingly, putting these rivals to bed while geared down in the very late stages. The visual here outshone the Beyer, and Honey Jar looked well above par in terms of maiden special weight winners. This is the first foal to race from a mare who won only 1 of 4 starts but hails from a family with black type all over the place, generation after generation. Would think a mile might prove within her scope.

Finding Freedom

April 3, 10th race Tampa, MdSpWt25k

Beyer: 81

1 1/16M turf 1:41.43, 1st by 2 1/4 lengths

b. c. 3, Medaglia d’Oro – Grand Mere, by Bob and John

Auctions: F-T Oct. yearling 2019 – $210,000

Owner: Niall Brennan

Trainer: Chad Brown

Breeder: WinStar Farm

This colt was entered in and withdrawn from three different 2-year-old sales by the current owner – an apparently intended pinhook that, for whatever reason, didn’t work out. His debut trip worked out nicely, the colt breaking alertly from post 1 to show good positional pace and put himself in a beautiful spot racing third, tracking two leaders. He attacked before the five-sixteenths poles, obviously going best of the lead trio, and dispatched with the pair in front of him with apparent ease, cruising to a decisive win. Finding Freedom did jump to the wrong lead in the final furlong, almost certainly from looking down (no shadow roll) at a discolored section of turf, but things were well in hand by them. Good stride length and goes easily enough, but does have that sort of straight-legged flicking action with his front legs that can limit the rate of acceleration. No prominent immediate family black type, but third dam Classy Women was a turf stakes winner and a sister to the good Aidan O’Brien-trained turf miler Ad Valorem, while the first dam is a sister to a pair of stakes winners.

Illiogami

April 2, 10th race Keeneland, MdSpWt79k

Beyer: 80

1 1/16M 1:44.02, 1st by a head

gr. f. 3, Tapit – Odeliz, by Franco

Auctions: Keeneland September yearling 2019 – $400,000

Owner: Reiko and Michael Baum

Trainer: Rusty Arnold

Breeder: RR. and M. Baum /The Tapit Syndicate

She shows up as being sold for $400K as a yearling, consigned by Gainesway, and while I can find no reference to her being bought back, her breeders also are the owners. Not sure how strong this race was, but it was exciting. They tried the filly on turf twice last year to start her career, switched to dirt in her 2-year-old finale and got major improvement. First Lasix here, and an improbable victory considering Precipitate, whom she beat by a nose, had a clear lead midway around the far turn, going easy as Illiogami had to swing wide while still about six lengths down. Slightly troubled just after the start, Illiogami raced from last – no surprise that she lacks pace because she is a tall, raw-looking filly who carries her head quite high. She does have some acceleration, jockey Julien Leparoux probing up the fence on the backstretch and getting a pretty quick response from his mount, who then ran into a wall of horses and had to wait. She was full of run round the far turn and with no inside passage Leparoux moved outside, finding room between horses, then swinging to the far outside for the short-stretch run of this 1 1/16-mile trip. Perhaps Precipitate, who led all but the last jump, is a horse a rider can’t crop; whatever the reason, her jockey hand-rode to the finish, just showing her the stick as Illiogami stormed home to get up by a nostril. This was not all about the leader failing to finish off, since Illiogami was the only filly making up ground, and she made it up fast once she changed leads 50 yards out. As mentioned, the head carriage is very high, and looking at the stride one can see why connections tried turf. Dirt, it turned out, was the answer.