Each week in this space, the top Beyer performances by maiden winners will be featured and analyzed. Click here for a complete archive. Vlahos  March 9, 4th race Santa Anita, MdSpWt68k  Beyer: 98  6 1/2 furlongs 1:15.75 – 1st by 4 1/2 lengths  ch.r.3, Kantharos – Must Be Dreaming, by Run Away and Hide  Noteworthy siblings: None  Auctions: Keeneland September yearling 2022 – $35,000  Owner: Dan Northrup  Trainer: Luis Mendez  Breeder: John Bates, Ron Kirk, Greg McDonald  At odds of 13-1, first-time starter Vlahos was sixth choice in this 10-horse maiden sprint. Whoops. Vlahos on the figure was about as fast as an early season 3-year-old can run – though there are so many high numbers assigned to horses that didn’t win this race, one might wonder if Vlahos was quite as brilliant as the fig. Debuting in a shadow roll and the tiniest-cup blinkers, Vlahos was saddled with post 1, the toughest spot for a first-timer, and while away well from the gate, he broke inward a couple paths before being corrected and coming up to lead before the field left the chute and crossed over to the main track. Without seeing pace figures, the fractions here were intense, 21.47 and 43.69, yet Vlahos did not appear to be working hard to set them. The rider merely kept him engaged around the turn before Vlahos changed leads professionally cornering for home. After a couple of right-handed broadsides he opened an even wider advantage and was a winner at the furlong grounds. It seemed more like Vlahos, having already secured victory, coasted to the wire rather than finishing like a tired horse, and runner-up Feel the Magic came from eighth midway through the race, passing horses who really were tired just from chasing the pace, not setting it. A bargain purchase at Keeneland’s September yearling sale, Vlahos is the first foal from a mare who only sprinted during a modest eight-start career but who is a sister to nine-time graded-stakes winner Are You Kidding Me and multiple stakes winner Core Values, both route horses. He’s a good-looking animal through the barrel and neck with a body type and legs that aren’t strictly of the sprint type, though those legs do not produce an especially attractive stride. Vlahos, a ridgling, clearly has plenty of sprint speed but might not prove purely a sprinter.  Proprietary Trade  March 7, 1st race Aqueduct, MdSpWt78k  Beyer: 85  6 furlongs 1:11.85 (muddy, sealed) – 1st by 4 3/4 lengths  b.c.3, Practical Joke – Mo’s Song, by Uncle Mo  Noteworthy siblings: None  Auctions: Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall mixed 2021 – $190,000  Owner: Klaravich Stables  Trainer: Chad Brown  Breeder: Russell Jones  He took some betting action debuting Feb. 10 at Gulfstream, going off a little less than 6-1 in a 12-horse field but fading to a well-beaten fifth after a pace-tracking trip. Trainer Chad Brown worked Proprietary Trade back at Payson Park in Florida, where the colt had been breezing before his start, before sending him north to New York for this, his second outing, which yielded a very easy win that perhaps exceeded the speed figure. Proprietary Trade broke all right but was bumped on his back end by the horse leaving the stall outside him, then quickly came up to dispute the lead while racing very aggressively. Once he got to the front and over to the rail, Proprietary Trade put his ears up and became more relaxed, dominating five rivals the rest of the way. He changed leads well in the homestretch and ran the best part of his race from the quarter pole to the eighth pole, going that furlong in 11.71 while showing an upper-stretch turn of foot eye-catching for a dirt horse. Jockey Manny Franco went to a right-handed crop only because Proprietary Trade was drifting out, and, his course corrected, he went easily through the final half-furlong. He’s the first foal from a miler dam of no great consequence on the track, and despite sprinting his first two outings appears to be a candidate for routes. Proprietary Trade is leggy and has a fairly long stride, and despite being geared down at the wire, he galloped out with good energy after the chasing horses approached him.  Saybrook  March 6, 9th race Tampa Bay, MCL40k  Beyer: 93  7 furlongs 1:22.09 – 1st by 10 3/4 lengths  b.g.3, Jess’s Dream – Sherrie Belle, by Dynaformer  Noteworthy siblings: None  Auctions: None  Owner: Robert Roffey Jr.  Trainer: John Vinson  Breeder: Robert Roffey Jr.  This homebred gelding debuted Sept. 16 at Gulfstream in a Florida-bred maiden special weight and was beaten 13 lengths at odds of 47-1. What a difference six months, a move to maiden claiming, and – possibly – the addition of Lasix made. Skepticism is warranted regarding the sustainability or repeatability of that 93 Beyer: Getting loose on the lead in a field of maiden-claimers can make a horse with some ability look better than his true baseline, which might well be the case here. Saybrook races in front bandages and blinkers and is far from a pretty mover. Moreover, despite taking a big lead to midstretch, the gelding was ridden very aggressively on the way to this blowout. That said, the 1:22.09 is a legitimately fast raw time, and in addition to being fastest early, Saybrook was easily fastest through the final furlong, which he traveled in an impressive 12.35. One thing seems certain: Saybrook in the near future will not be racing for another claiming tag.