Breakout Beyers: Taiba runs to expectations, hitting triple digits in debut

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

Taiba

March 5, 2nd race Santa Anita, MdSpWt68k

Beyer: 103

6f 1:09.97 – 1st by 7 1/2 lengths

ch. c. 3, Gun Runner – Needmore Flattery, by Flatter

Auctions: Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling 2020 – $140,000; Fasig-Tipton Florida March select 2-year-old in training 2021 – $1.7 million

Owner: Zedan Racing Stable

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Breeder: Bruce Ryan

Only Bob Baffert-trained 3-year-olds have broken into triple-digit figures so far during 2022. Messier also got a 103, though his came in a stakes race, his fifth career start, while Taiba launched into this rare air in his debut. Spending a massive amount of money on a racehorse guarantees nothing, but if this colt can stay sound, he could be really, really good. Taiba went right into breezing following the purchase at a spring 2021 breeze-up sale, where Taiba worked a furlong in 10.20 and galloped out impressively, a colt bred for two-turn racing with a Quarter Horse’s engine on him. Published works were interrupted in mid-June, and so it took the better part of a year following the sale before Taiba had a chance to display his talent. Off at odds of 1-2, he broke alertly and put himself right into the race, leading while under some pressure down the backstretch and around the turn. This was all run-of-the-mill stuff. It was at the quarter pole that Taiba began demonstrating his superior qualities, drawing away from his pace rivals without being asked for much. John Velazquez did crop him past the three-sixteenths pole, but Taiba mainly finished under his own courage, going his final furlong in a blazing 12 seconds flat. The dam, whose one other named foal hasn’t started, was a standout in the Ohio-bred ranks, winning over a distance as long as 1 1/8 miles. It’ll be very surprising if Taiba doesn’t at least stay a middle distance.

Win the Day

March 6, 4th race Santa Anita, MdSpWt67k

Beyer: 83

1M 1:38.18 – 1st by 5 3/4 lengths

b. g. 3, Midshipman – Sunrise Bay, by Jazil

Auctions: Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October yearling 2020 – $10,000; OBS spring 2-year-old 2021 – $82,000

Owner: Boat Racing, Fritz Brothers Racing, William Strauss

Trainer: Doug O’Neill

Breeder: Richlyn Farm

Win the Day made two starts on turf – running better in his sprint debut than in his route try second time out – and was a 9-1 shot facing just four rivals in a two-turn dirt mile. Granted, he got a dream pace setup, racing a long-looking last while the two favorites and a third horse blistered a quarter-mile in 22.47 and a half in 46.17. There was always going to be some stopping after that kind of pace, but to Win the Day’s credit, he found stride past the half-mile pole and had reached the lead pack before the horses even straightened into the homestretch. His rivals tiring badly, Win the Day drew clear in the final half-furlong, his advantage widening even as he went a tepid final quarter in 26.51. Another diamond in the rough purchased at least somewhat on the cheap by the trainer’s brother Dennis O’Neill, and this gelding barely brought five figures as a yearling. His dam didn’t clear the maiden ranks, but her top performance came in her only start at 1 1/8 miles, unsurprising since her sire won the Belmont Stakes. Stamina should be a long suit for this horse, though it remains to be seen how much this performance had to do with the pace collapse.

Electability

March 5, 2nd race Aqueduct, MdSpWt77k

Beyer: 87

1M 1:39.59 – 1st by a half-length

b. g. 3, Quality Road – Spindle, by Hard Spun

Auctions: Keeneland November breeding 2019 – $300,000

Owner: Klaravich Stable

Trainer: Chad Brown

Breeder: Purple H Bloodstock

Electability at age 2 debuted in a turf-route maiden at Saratoga, finishing seventh and not posting a timed workout again until Jan. 3. Trainer Chad Brown had a second runner in this five-horse field, the Peter Brant-owned first-timer Don the Jeweler, who went off a shorter price than Electability but finished last. Electability in this one-turn mile soon took up a pressing position outside the Todd Pletcher-trained favorite, Long Term. A third horse, Improper, tried to get involved on the second part of the far turn, but Long Term and Electability dashed away from him in upper stretch. The two ran as a team until the sixteenth pole, where Electability edged clear despite never changing leads during the stretch run. The win margin wasn’t much, but there were more than nine lengths between Long Term and Improper and nearly eight lengths more to the fourth-place horse. The track obviously was slow and laboring, and an 87 Beyer for a one-mile maiden this time of year is strong enough. The dam, who was light on quality, only sprinted, but this gelding already showed he doesn’t mind galloping along over longer distances.