Breakout Beyers: Mutasaabeq lives up to hype

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

Mutasaabeq

Aug. 8, 5th race, Saratoga, MdSpWt72k
Beyer: 84
5 1/2f, 1:03.55, 1st by 4 1/2 lengths
b. c. 2, Into Mischief–Downside Scenario, by Scat Daddy
Noteworthy siblings: None
Auctions: Keeneland November breeding 2018 – $425,000
Owner: Shadwell Stable
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Breeder: BlackRidge Stables

This colt would’ve come out of Kiaran McLaughlin’s barn before McLaughlin retired earlier this year to become Luis Saez’s agent, and Saez did ride Mutasaabeq. Guess “they,” ah, liked this debuting 2-year-old pretty well since he was 4-5 facing six foes. Seemingly no accident that trainer Todd Pletcher started this colt off going 5 1/2 furlongs, and while there is no shame in being a sprinter, he sure looks like a sprinter and is bred like a sprinter. First foal to race out of a Chad Brown-trained horse who was a turf sprinter, and the best horse showing in a few generations of the female line is multiple stakes-winning sprinter Cool Cowboy. Mutasaabeq didn’t break all that well and wound up caught wide into the turn, but that hardly mattered, as he asserted control in upper stretch, albeit under strong urging, and coasted home an easy winner. Those legs turn over quickly because the strides don’t stretch very far.

Dr. Schivel

Aug. 8, 10th race, Del Mar, MdSpWt56k
Beyer: 86
6f, 1:10.49, 1st by 5 3/4 lengths
b. c. 2, Violence–Lil Nugget, by Mining for Money
Noteworthy siblings: None
Auctions: Keeneland January all ages 2019 – $37,000 RNA
Owner: William Branch and Arnold Hill
Trainer: Luis Mendez
Breeder: William Branch and Arnold Hill

This is a tough one to figure (so to speak) since the colt had raced twice, earning Beyers of 57 and 49 while racing, respectively, at Santa Anita in his debut and at Los Alamitos second time out. Has a somewhat high action and is not an imposing horse physically, but he won going away in a race where the horses were spread out all over the track and came home under hand urging the final half-furlong after getting two cracks of the crop to open a commanding lead before and after the eighth pole. Broke decently, stalked the pace, was switched to the outside in upper stretch, and just smoked past the two in front of him, final furlong in 12.38. By comparison, the Best Pal Stakes for 2-year-olds earlier on the card had a winning time of 1:12.72, final furlong in 13.37 seconds. Failed to meet a low reserve at auction and races for his breeders. Dam’s side of pedigree gets pretty obscure pretty quick. Manner of finish and gallop-out suggests longer distances are in range.

Doswell

Aug. 8, 1st race, Saratoga, MdSpWt72k
Beyer: 92
1 1/16M, turf, 1:43.41, 1st by 2 1/2 lengths
b. g. 5, Giant’s Causeway–Ballet Pacifica, by Minardi
Noteworthy siblings: Secretary at War (War Front) – SW $341K, Entrechat (Giant’s Causeway) – $170K earnings
Auctions: None
Owner: Allen Stables
Trainer: Barclay Tagg
Breeder: Joseph Allen

Won’t see a lot of 5-year-olds making their sixth career start appear in this space, but Doswell has run fast before and was good in this short-field turf route, where he controlled the pace from the start and foreshadowed a much more important win later on the card for trainer Barclay Tagg. Tagg saddled Doswell for the first time after the gelding debuted with a fine second at Newmarket as a 2-year-old of 2017. He didn’t race for more than a year following that start, and his comeback came in America for trainer Chad Brown. Doswell posted three good second-place finishes (one by a narrow margin to talented stablemate Good Governance) before racing well below form in an off-turf start last Sept. 2, only making his reappearance in this spot. He controlled an easy pace, but it’s no knock on a turf router to have rateable speed. This was a good figure, and he might yet build on it, but age and injury history surely situates his ceiling lower than it was during earlier phases of the career.

Jolting Joe

Aug. 6, 8th race, Saratoga, New York Stallion S. Cab Calloway Div. $100K
Beyer: 80
1 1/16M, turf, 1:43.41, 1st by 2 1/2 lengths
gr. c. 3 Mission Impazible–Marilyn Monroan, by Tapit
Noteworthy siblings: Somelikeithotbrown (Big Brown) – multiple graded stakes winner (G2 Bernard Baruch)
Auctions: None found
Owner: Skychai Racing
Trainer: Mike Maker
Breeder: Hot Pink Stables

Came into this a four-race maiden, but all four starts produced encouraging second-place finishes, including last September in the Armed Forces S. at Gulfstream. Watching him run here, the string of runner-up finishes seems like no accident; this colt was running in place at the three-sixteenths pole and appeared disinterested in attending to the task at hand. The jockey strongly encouraged him to change that mindset, and Jolting Joe eventually relented, asserting his superiority to this group through the final furlong. Upside? Not especially high, but a useful New York-bred for sure.