Breakout Beyers: Cave Rock in rarefied air

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

Cave Rock
Aug. 13, 7th race Del Mar, MdSpWt82K
Beyer: 101
6 1/2 furlongs 1:15.81 – 1st by 6 lengths
b. c. 2, Arrogate – Charlie’s Angel, by Bellamy Road
Noteworthy siblings: Take Charge Angel (Will Take Charge – foaled 2016) – $166K earnings, 90 Beyer
Auctions: Keeneland November breeding 2020 – $210,000; Keeneland September yearling 2021 – $550,000
Owner: Michael Pegram, Karl Watson, Paul Weitman
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Breeder: Ann and Ronnie Sheffer Racing

In a word, ridiculous. This equaled the best 2-year-old Beyer of 2022, and the colt ran this fast while basically never being asked for anything. The runner-up, Practical Move, got an 89 Beyer while coming home more than three lengths clear of the third-place horse as the field finished spread all over the track, often a sign of a truly strong race. Cave Rock broke sharply, took an easy lead, ran the turn exceedingly well, and went .32 second faster through the final 2 1/2 furlongs than the next-best finish. His dam was a sprinter, as was her most successful foal to date, Take Charge Angel, but Arrogate, who quietly has been coming around as a sire, is all but certain to have imparted sufficient stamina for this colt to at least stay a middle distance. His stride rhythm looked more miler than sprinter, and Cave Rock might just be one of those exceptionally talented horses capable of running a very, very fast sprint race despite not really being a sprinter.

Expressman
Aug. 13, 9th race Saratoga, MdSpWt105k
Beyer: 107
7 furlongs 1:22.94 – 1st by 7 1/4 lengths
b. c. 3, Liam’s Map – Spangled Banner, by Tiz Wonderful
Auctions: Keeneland November breeding 2019 – $145,000; Keeneland September yearling 2020 – $140,000 (RNA); Fasig-Tipton spring 2yo 2021 – $325,000
Owner: St. Elias Stable
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Breeder: Gainesway Thoroughbreds and Bridlewood Farm

An absolutely sensational career debut, albeit a belated one. The fact this colt failed to meet a $140,000 reserve at a yearling auction after fetching $145,000 as a weanling, coupled with the mid-August start to his racing career clearly raises some flags, though those circumstances might be entirely unrelated. Expressman posted two published works last November at Fair Hill, worked there once in April, and finally, in June, got on a regular breeze pattern with Todd Pletcher’s Monmouth string. He clearly was ready for this unveiling. Expressman looks like a pretty scopey colt, but he broke on top of this field and had excellent early speed, opening a one-length lead before the turn. The Saratoga main track has produced laborious finishes for weeks, horses coming home at a crawl, but Expressman, after displaying the best early foot in this 10-horse field, got his final furlong in 12.77, which was .64 second faster than the next-best finish. The farther he got into the stretch, the better the colt seemed to go, and his gallop-out was extraordinary. The dam hasn’t produced much of note, but she was a route horse, and her super-talented son looks like a strong candidate to route. Here’s hoping he can put together a sustained campaign.

Chocolate Gelato
Aug. 14, 6th race Saratoga, MdSpWt105k
Beyer: 92
6 furlongs 1:10.30 – 1st by 8 1/2 lengths
b. c. 2, Practical Joke – Special Treat, by Candy Ride
Auctions: Fasig-Tipton summer yearling 2021 – $165,000; Fasig-Tipton Florida March select 2yo 2022 – $475,000
Owner: Repole Stable
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Breeder: Vincent Colbert

After burying a good chunk of the betting public losing his career debut July 14 at odds of 1-2, Chocolate Gelato showed what all the hype was about winning by a pole at odds of 2-1. He was ridden along to make the early lead, but that was the only pressure the colt felt from his rider, opening a lead into the stretch and crushing the chasers with a fifth furlong in a wicked 11.64 seconds. That’s especially impressive over this deep, laboring track, and Chocolate Gelato followed it with a final furlong in 12.33, much faster than anyone else in the race save distant runner-up Twin Mischief, who went 12.31 after going a half-second slower than the winner through the penultimate eighth of a mile. Just a half-beat slow to change leads and might not have moved quite like a surefire two-turn candidate. The female family only gets juicy when you go back to the third dam, Daydreaming, who produced several runners, among them the Grade 1-winning long-distance turf horse Imagining.

Stud Lovin
Aug. 12, 6th race Ellis Park, MdSpWt60k
Beyer: 80
5 1/2 furlongs 1:04.30 – 1st by 7 3/4 lengths
Auctions: Fasig-Tipton summer yearling 2021 – $160,000; OBS 2yo and horses of racing age 2022 – $220,000
Owner: Paradise Farms, David Staudacher, Angelo Carlesimo, and Below the Rim Stable
Trainer: Mike Maker
Breeder: David Soblick

Liked this colt even more than the solid Beyer and wide margin of finish. It’s somewhat odd he debuted in a 5 1/2-furlong sprint rather than something longer; his dam was a route horse (won the 2008 Tempted) and he has the body of a colt that will appreciate more ground. Not just the body, either, as his long stride goes along much more in the rhythm of a two-turn horse than a sprinter. He wasn’t the quickest out of the gate but was fastest through the first furlong and coming under pressure past the three-furlong marker while stuck along the rail didn’t faze Stud Lovin. He was ridden to go clear at the quarter pole but in the end won easily with an appealing gallop-out. Definitely watch for his return.

Bourbon Bash
Aug. 13, 7th race Saratoga, MdSpWt105k
Beyer: 83
6 furlongs 1:11.77 – 1st by 8 lengths
b. c. 2, City of Light – Buy Sell Hold, by Violence
Auctions: Keeneland September yearling 2021 – $280,000
Owner: BC Stables
Trainer: D. Wayne Lukas
Breeder: Machmer Hall

Broke from the rail and “went to the front and increased her advantage,” as the saying goes. Can’t fault the performance as the colt took a nice step forward in the second start of her career. He was ridden harder than some of the winners on this week’s list and did not post a flashy finishing time. He’s the first foal to race from a stakes-winning sprinting dam, and the dam is a sister to Grade 1-winning sprinter Volatile. All signs point to the colt maxing out at one mile, tops, but he is pretty fast.

Maple Leaf Mel
Aug. 10, 6th race Saratoga, NY-bred MdSpWt80k
Beyer: 82
6 furlongs 1:11.48 – 1st by 5 lengths
gr. f. 2, Cross Traffic – City Gift, by City Place
Auctions: Keeneland September yearling 2021 – $18,000; Fasig Tipton spring 2yo 2022 – $150,000
Owner: August Dawn Farm
Trainer: Jeremiah Englehart
Breeder: Joe Fafone

The filly won eased up and this was a good figure for an August 2-year-old, but her performance was standard-issue “go to the front and win with early-speed” sort of stuff. Mom produced a very minor New York-bred stakes horse and herself had a limited sprint career that hit a high point with a $50,000 maiden-claiming win. You can see from the final time and the Beyer that this track was extremely demanding. She was slow to change leads and sports a somewhat funky, rounded, knee-curling action. If nothing else, she ought to be a handful in statebred-restricted stakes late summer and into the autumn.