Breakout Beyers: Surface switch turns lights on for impressive Principe d’Oro

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

Principe d’Oro

April 2, 1st race Aqueduct, MdSpWt77k

Beyer: 92

1M 1:37.07 – 1st by 3 3/4 lengths

b. c. 3, Medaglia d’Oro – Dame Dorothy, by Bernardini

Noteworthy siblings: Spice Is Nice (Curlin) – G2 winner, $260K earnings

Auctions: Keeneland September yearling 2020 – $650,000

Owner: Juddmonte, Winchell Thoroughbreds, and Bridlewood Farm

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Breeder: B. Flay Thoroughbreds

This colt debuted on turf, which seems a little surprising, back in January at Gulfstream, was bet to favoritism breaking from the rail in a 12-horse field, and failed to fire. He looked like a totally different animal here with the benefit of a few months and a surface switch. He had only four foes and broke on top from the outside post, clearing and crossing to set the pace over 4-5 favorite Montauk Point, who chased and chased to no avail. Principe d’Oro began getting away in upper stretch and even as his actual speed slowed, he opened a wider gap back to his pursuers. The Aqueduct track surface is nothing if not laboring, and it’s basically business as usual seeing a 3-year-old go from a 47.20 first half to a 49.20 second half and still earn a 90-plus Beyer. Visually, he appeared to be doing it well, and while the gallop-out was sharply truncated on the video, he seemed to go out around the clubhouse turn like a future two-turn horse. Second foal to start from a very good racemare, also trained by Pletcher, who preferred routes. Looking back several generations, this is an excellent pedigree, one entirely outcrosses for five generations. Front-running maiden winners in short fields merit skepticism when they return in tougher spots, but the talent clearly exists here.

Emirates Road

April 16, 2nd race Keeneland, MdSpWt96k

Beyer: 82

7f (slop) 1:23.91 – 1st by 1 length

b. c. 3, Quality Road – Enrichment, by Ghostzapper

Noteworthy siblings: Libreta (Girolamo) – New York-bred stakes winner, $129K earnings; Prevalence (Medaglia d’Oro) – Grade 3 winner, $288K earnings

Owner: Godolphin

Trainer: Brendan Walsh

Breeder: Godolphin

This second-time starter cleared the maiden ranks on the same card as his 4-year-old brother, Prevalence, notched his first stakes win in the Grade 3 Commonwealth. He’d been 6-1 facing 10 foes debuting in a six-furlong maiden race at Gulfstream, also run in the slop, and finished a well-beaten fifth with a wide trip. But “they” loved him in this second start with an added furlong; Emirates Road took action throughout the betting and was knocked down from 7-2 to 5-2 at the end of wagering – with good reason. As in his debut, he was away somewhat slowly and after a half-furlong might have briefly raced in last. From there, it was all forward movement. Emirates Road split horses to gain momentum into the turn, found live cover going two to three paths wide around the far turn, swung to the far outside after a professional lead change at the three-sixteenths pole, and wore down the horse he’d followed, favored Bourbon Heist, to win going away. Prevalence looks like a miler type, and that might be his brother’s most likely outcome as well.

Wish You Well

April 2, 8th race Gulfstream, MdSpWt53k

Beyer: 85

7f 1:23.97 – 1st by a half-length

ch. f. 3, American Freedom – Listen to Libby, by Indian Charlie

Noteworthy siblings: Chanteline (Majesticperfection) – G3 winner, multiple stakes winner, $595K earnings; Kell Paso (Divine Park) – multiple stakes winner, $245K earnings

Auctions: Fasig-Tipton Kentucky select yearling 2020 – $160,000; Fasig-Tipton select March 2-year-olds in training – $550,000

Owner: Black Type Thoroughbreds, R.A. Hill Stable, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing, and Kallenberg Farms

Trainer: George Weaver

Breeder: Brereton Jones

The margin of victory might have only been a half-length, but there were eight others in the field and none of them got within nine lengths of the top two; the performance looked legitimate. Wish You Well was no secret, going to post the 8-5 favorite in her career debut, and she got right down to business. Her first step was solid, her second and third excellent, the filly pushing off powerfully to go up and contest the lead, eventually taking over while racing inside with her ears pricked. The fact she appeared to be traveling comfortably belied fast fractions – 22.10 and 44.75. Having disposed of her early-pace rivals past the three-furlong pole, Wish You Well braced for a challenge from the Todd Pletcher-trained firster Inventing and held her clear, though Inventing, for what it’s worth, did gallop out in front. This filly’s leading sibling, Chanteline, excelled in short turf sprints; speed, too, seems to be Wish You Well’s game, but she’s already gone seven furlongs, farther than Chanteline wanted to run. Something like a mile seems a reasonable hope.

Western River

April 2, 6th race Oaklawn, MdSpWt77k

Beyer: 87

1 1/16M 1:43.59 – 1st by 3 3/4 lengths

gr. c. 3, Tapit – Morena, by Privately Held

Noteworthy siblings: Creator (Tapit) – G1 Belmont S. winner, G1 Arkansas Derby winner, $1.6M earnings

Auctions: Keeneland September yearling 2020 – $30,000

Owner: September Farm, Union Park Thoroughbreds, Black Fern, Michael Motley, Rachel Motley

Trainer: Rodolphe Brisset

Breeder: Mt. Brilliant Broodmares and Tapit Syndicate

He required five starts to clear the maiden ranks, and even here Western River strongly benefited from the shape of this maiden race. He bears similarities, at least superficially, to his full brother Creator, the 2016 Belmont Stakes winner, whose dam in five subsequent foals before this one failed to produce anything of consequence. Creator was a lumbering sort who lacked any early pace, and so, too, this fellow. His career debut last year, which was modest to say the least, came on dirt, followed by two turf races. The addition of blinkers in his third start helped, and, back from a winter break, connections added Lasix to the package, switched him back to dirt, and got immediate improvement in his first 2022 race, followed by this breakthrough. Western River strolled out of the gate and quickly fell back to a distant last – the right place to be, it turned out, when a pack of front-runners went very hard around the clubhouse turn and down the backstretch. By the half-mile pole, Western River had engaged with the task at hand, and past the three-furlong pole, moving wide, he had the look of a winner. Sustaining his run through the homestretch while traveling nice and straight, he kicked clear from the sixteenth pole through the finish. Stamina appears to be no issue (might the Belmont come into play?), and he clearly was a bargain auction buy at a mere $30,000.