Breakout Beyers: Blazing Sevens gets 78 Beyer despite slow time on watch

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

Blazing Sevens

July 24, 1st race Saratoga, MdSpWt105k

Beyer: 78

6 furlongs 1:13.34 – 1st by 6 1/4 lengths

b. f. 2, Good Magic – Trophy Girl, by Warrior’s Reward

Noteworthy siblings: None

Auctions: Keeneland January all ages 2021 – $140,000; Fasig-Tipton select yearling Saratoga – $225,000

Owner: Rodeo Creek Racing

Trainer: Chad Brown

Breeder: Tracy Farmer

It’s mind-blowing that a capable, talented 2-year-old could clock a time this slow. If the track’s safe, that’s all that really matters in the end, but these races are hard to judge. The Beyer Speed Figure people judged that this track sped up as the card went along since the winner of race 6, the second division of this race, ran .65 of a second faster but got a figure one point lower. Personally, I preferred Blazing Sevens to Kaling, in any case. Trainer Chad Brown told DRF’s David Grening after the race that Blazing Sevens at base was a route horse who really wanted no part of sprinting, and one can see that from her performance since she was hard-ridden just to get into early position. Blazing Sevens broke in and bumped, was fourth early, but worked her way into second, chasing a loose leader, by the seven-sixteenths pole. Blazing Sevens reeled in the leader in upper stretch and drew comfortably clear, her jockey far less active through the final furlong than the first furlong. She galloped out far in front (as far as the very limited gallop-out video allowed us to see) and looks like a stretchout prospect right off the bat.

Havnameltdown

July 24, 4th race Del Mar, MdSpWt82.5k

Beyer: 80

5 furlongs 57.42 – 1st by 2 1/4 lengths

b. c. 2, Uncaptured – Ashley’s Babe, by Put It Back

Noteworthy siblings: None

Auctions: OBS yearling 2021 – $16,000; OBS spring 2-year-old 2022 – $200,000

Owner: Michael Pegram, Karl Watson, Paul Weitman

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Breeder: Katherine Devall

Big, strong-looking, very fast colt won nicely when well-bet in career debut – but what does it mean moving forward? This was a mere five-furlong dash, and the pedigree here is sprint, sprint, and more sprint. Could he win a race like the seven-furlong Del Mar Futurity? Couldn’t rule it out since the colt was solid to the wire and galloped out well (though not as well as fifth-place Curlin colt Skinner, who whizzed past him onto the backstretch). A real bargain yearling whose 2-year-old purchase price came because of who he is as an individual, not because of what his relatives accomplished. The dam, who hasn’t produced much, was strictly a blue-collar claimer.

Kaling

July 24, 6th race Saratoga, MdSpWt105k

Beyer: 77

6 furlongs 1:12.69 – 1st by 2 3/4 lengths

b. f. 2, Practical Joke – Proud Indian, by Indian Charlie

Noteworthy siblings: None

Auctions: Keeneland September yearling 2021 – $220,000

Owner: Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Breeder: John R. Penn and Frank Penn

Another slow raw Saratoga time. Obviously, Beyer Speed Figures help sort out just how “fast” a horse ran on a slow track, but these races still are difficult to assess. Did the laboring surface benefit this horse? And since it clearly disadvantaged others, to what extent did the surface effect race shape and margin of victory? In any case, Wesley Ward firster Rarify was all the rage with the bettors here. Kaling broke on top, Rarify not so great, but Rarify wanted the lead and Kaling was displaced to race behind Rarify, who’d finish second, and eventual third-place finisher Randomized. Randomized lost her position approaching the quarter pole, allowing Kaling to come off the rail and challenge Rarify. Kaling clearly was going better at the three-sixteenths after changing leads on cue, and she widened her edge to the wire while running straight and true. She does not appear to have a great amount of scope but went efficiently enough. More solid than spectacular.

American Rockette

July 21, 10th race Saratoga, MdSpWt105k

Beyer: 70

5 1/2 furlongs (good track) 1:05.93 – 1st by 2 1/2 lengths

American Pharoah – Rocket Twentyone, by Indian Charlie

Noteworthy siblings: Frank’s Rockette (Into Mischief) – multiple graded stakes winner, $959K earnings

Owner: Frank Fletcher Racing Operations

Trainer: Bill Mott

Breeder: Frank Fletcher

Yes, the Beyer came back just 70, and yes, this was a race scheduled for turf and rained onto dirt, but American Rockette looked like a future stakes horse thundering home from many lengths behind the leader turning for the money. Her sister Frank’s Rockette is an excellent sprinter, and one wonders how far this filly will want to run, but a longer one-turn race looked well within her scope. While she dropped nearer the tail of the field than the head into the turn, she was going easily, and this was one of those subtle moves past the three-furlong marker where the horse comes into contention without one realizing it until its happened. She was under minimal encouragement while lengthening stride impressively in the final furlong to win going away, and we look forward to her next start.

Half a Chance

July 14, 2nd race Saratoga, MdSpWt105k

Beyer: 79

5 1/2 furlongs 1:05.01 – 1st by a half-length

b. f. 2, Flatter – Third Chance, by Kafwain

Noteworthy siblings: None

Auctions: Keeneland September yearling 2021 – $150,000

Owner: C J Thoroughbreds

Trainer: Wesley Ward

Breeder: Ben-D Farm

Chocolate Gelato, a first-timer from the Todd Pletcher barn, somehow was the 1-2 favorite here despite Half a Chance having turned in a strong turf-sprint debut performance for the potent 2-year-old barn of Wesley Ward. In the end, runner-up Spelterini, who got started too late before roaring home to just miss and gallop out far in front, might be the best horse coming out of this heat, but Half a Chance gamely turned back Chocolate Gelato and fought to the line to hold on. Her dam was a highly accomplished Illinois-bred dirt sprinter, and this filly has the look of a horse who will prefer shorter trips herself.

Leave No Trace

July 20, 5th race Saratoga, MdSpWt (restricted)83k

Beyer: 77

5 1/2 furlongs 1:05.80 – 1st by 2 3/4 lengths

b. f. 2, Outwork – Tanquerray, by Good Journey

Noteworthy siblings: None

Auctions: Fasig-Tipton Kentucky winter mixed 2021 – $8,000; Fasig-Tipton yearling 2021 – $40,000

Owner: WellSpring Stables

Trainer: Phil Serpe

Breeder: Red Cloak Farm

Hit the pause button to some extent because this was a maiden race restricted to horses who sold for less than $50,000. That said, the filly ran pretty fast, did it very easily, and there was a gap of nearly 11 lengths from the second-place finisher back to third. Leave No Trace stalked comfortably and, coming wide in the homestretch, took over easily, her ears still pricked when she was opening distance on the horses behind her. Cost a pittance in January 2021. The pedigree going back generations is wonky enough I can’t really even guess what her ideal trip would be.