Breakout Beyers: Bishops Bay a little bit green but shows plenty of talent
Each week in this space, the top Beyer performances by maiden winners will be featured and analyzed. Click here for a complete archive.
Bishops Bay
Feb. 18, 5th race Fair Grounds, MdSpWt70k
Beyer: 97
6 furlongs 1:10.07 – 1st by 3/4 length
b. c. 3, Uncle Mo – Catch My Drift, by Pioneerof the Nile
Noteworthy siblings: Strava (Into Mischief, foaled 2019) – multiple stakes-placed, $282K earnings
Auctions: Keeneland September yearling 2021 – $450,000
Owner: Spendthrift Farm, Steve Landers Racing, Martin Schwartz, Michael Dubb, Ten Strike Racing, Jim Bakke, Titletown Racing, Kueber Racing, Big Easy Racing, Winners Win, Michael Caruso, WinStar Farm
Trainer: Brad Cox
Breeder: WinStar Farm
The colt went to post for his first start as a 1-2 favorite in what appeared to be a loaded (it was) 10-horse maiden sprint. So, yeah, they liked him. There are no published works for Bishops Bay until early December, when he got on a pattern that led straight up to his debut. Something, somewhere, must not have been quite right for him to take that long to begin breezing. People in the Cox barn said in the days before this race that Bishops Bay still was green and might not be focused enough to deliver on his promise. The post parade, where he stopped and stared, unwilling even to go walk forward a couple times, showed what they were talking about. Bishops Bay, too, was a beat slow breaking – the last thing he did wrong in a scintillating performance. Quickly recovering from the start, the colt came between horses under Florent Geroux to get into a good stalking position after a furlong had been run. He cruised up before the half-mile pole to press the pacesetter, Geroux moving his hands a bit to keep the colt engaged, drew almost even with the leader, Ocean City, at the five-sixteenths pole, cornered athletically, and changed leads right on cue at the quarter pole. Bishops Bay’s stablemate, First Mission, had raced from farther back and come under a drive around the turn, but, on the wrong lead, he ate into the lead Bishops Bay had opened on Ocean City. First Mission either headed Bishops Bay or came very close at the eighth pole, but as soon as Geroux vigorously asked for more, his mount gave plenty. Bishops Bay rapidly repelled First Mission’s challenge, was going away from him at the wire, and galloped out well clear. It’s a late start for something like the Kentucky Derby, but this colt has the raw ability to think about top-level racing. First Mission is one to watch stretching out, and late-running third-place Bettera has talent, too.
Register
Feb. 18, 7th race Aqueduct, MdSpWt80k
Beyer: 93
1 mile 1:36.69 – 1st by a nose
b. r. 3, Super Saver – Champagne Sue, by Elusive Quality
Noteworthy siblings: High Oak (Gormley, foaled 2019) – Grade 2 winner
Auctions: Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October 2021 – $170,000
Owner: Robert Spiegel
Trainer: David Donk
Breeder: Catherine Parke
The win margin was a nose, and the runner-up was a 23-1 shot, but it was more than 10 lengths back to third in a 10-horse field, and the figure feels fairly legit. Register was making his third start after encouraging second-place finishes going six furlongs, then 6 1/2. He broke from the rail, a tough spot for a one-turn mile, and briefly turned left out of the gate before straightening up and coming through to engage for the lead with Asmodeus, who’d recovered from his own poor start to show speed. Asmodeus, a second-time starter for trainer Bill Mott, stayed lapped on Register down the backstretch and around the turn, and when riders on the other horses began scrubbing hard past the three-furlong marker, the two in front still were going along sweetly. Register took the corner into the homestretch better than Asmodeus and briefly looked as though he’d draw clear, but once Asmodeus belatedly changed leads, he came again and things got very, very close at the wire. Register’s talented sibling High Oak scored his major win in a sprint, albeit as a 2-year-old, while the dam was more sprinter-miler in her racing career. So, it’s possible Register was running out of steam at this trip, though it must be noted that the runner-up had an apprentice rider and got a meaningful seven pounds from Register.