Breakout Beyers: Phileas Fogg shows promise

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

Phileas Fogg

Dec. 8, 7th race Fair Grounds, MdSpWt50k
Beyer: 78
1 1/16 miles 1:45.37 – 1st by 3 3/4 lengths
b. c. 2, Astern – Merino, by More than Ready
Noteworthy siblings: None
Auctions: None
Owner: Godolphin
Trainer: Michael Stidham
Breeder: Godolphin

On the one hand, the colt got an easy lead and controlled a slow pace while facing a short field of opponents that hadn’t run very fast. On the other, this was the first race of his career, he did everything right, he won easily, and the tepid pace tamped down the chance to run an especially high final-time figure. His second dam, Cableknit, had several foals, but the dam herself went unraced and this is her first foal to make the races. Godolphin sold Merino this November at Keeneland’s auction of breeding stock, where she fetched a mere $20,000. Yet this is a solid-looking animal, at least from the video evidence, a big-headed, strong galloper who raced with intelligence and looked like a colt with ample staying power. Jockey Colby Hernandez asked him for speed one stride out of the gate, but it was Phileas Fogg who showed pace of his own, clearing before the first turn and settling professionally under a rating hold. He quickened away from the chasing horses at the quarter pole and continued extending his advantage mainly under a hand ride, Hernandez giving him one tap right-handed before a good gallop-out. Interesting prospect, albeit one with much to prove, whose pedigree does lean toward turf.

Gilmore

Dec. 10, 7th race Los Alamitos Race Course, MdSpWt47k
Beyer: 81
1 mile 1:37.40 – 1st by 4 lengths
gr. c. 2, Twirling Candy – My Surfer Girl, by Henny Hughes
Noteworthy siblings: None
Auctions: Keeneland November breeding 2020 – $48,000; Keeneland September yearling 2021 – $250,000
Owner: SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Breeder: Dividing Ridge Farm

He was favored at 7-5 making his career debut Nov. 13 in a Del Mar sprint and while closing steadily just ran out of ground there, finishing a close third. This two-turn race suited him better and he won well, but Gilmore’s 1-5 favoritism had as much to do with the level of competition as with his November race and high-profile connections. He didn’t have serious trouble but was squeezed back while between and just behind two horses into the first turn, the rider steadying and having to keep a strong hold around the bend before settling his mount into a more comfortable spot down the backstretch. Gilmore came with a bold four-wide move to pass three foes and engage the pacesetter, though after looking like he’d blow past at the three-eighths pole, he had to work a bit to wear that horse down through the homestretch, eventually proving much the best. He has the high knee action people often immediately associate with a horse better suited to grass. This was very much the fast-early, slow-late affair, Gilmore requiring 26.44 seconds to cover his final quarter-mile.

Eme Claire

Dec. 9, 5th race Woodbine, MdSpWt77k
Beyer: 84
6 furlongs Tapeta 1:11.20 – 1st by 6 1/4 lengths
b. f. 2, Street Sense – By Golly Mis Molly, by Vindication
Noteworthy siblings: Katie Baby (Curlin – foaled 2015) – multiple graded stakes-placed
Auctions: Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling 2021 – $85,000 RNA
Owner: C J Thoroughbreds
Trainer: Mark Casse
Breeder: Anderson Farms Ontario

Second-time starter made short work of eight rivals as the 2-1 favorite and looked good doing it, but hard to know just how much to make of the showing. The dam has produced several horses to race but herself was not much on the track, winning one race in a short career and that for a $7,500 claiming price. Eme Claire had much better speed than in her debut, popping right out of the gate and onto the lead, where she took minor inside pressure from a longshot. Going along with her ears laid back, she put forth a quick burst after hitting the far turn and disposed of her pace rival, then showed a decent turn of foot after cutting for home, quickly opening an unassailable lead of many lengths. The jockey flagged her twice with the crop, but this race was over a long way out and Eme Claire basically was eased across the wire. She’ll have Canadian-bred options but might not want to run that far.