SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - The 3-year-old Expressman got a late start to his career, but he proved it was well worth the wait in winning his debut Saturday by 7 1/4 lengths at Saratoga and earning a gaudy 107 Beyer Speed Figure in the process. Sharp away from the gate under Javier Castellano, Expressman rolled in front with splits of 22.75, 45.56, 1:10.17 and covered seven furlongs of a maiden special weight race in 1:22.94. His stablemate Unlimitedpotential finished second. “I thought considering how slow the track has been playing that it was going to come back a pretty strong figure, but that was even faster than I thought,” said Todd Pletcher, trainer of Expressman. “He broke super and kind of had the race in his control throughout, seemed like he was doing it without a whole lot of encouragement down the lane as well. I guess that’s about as good as you could run first time out.” By way of comparison, Maclean’s Music, in 2011, earned a 114 Beyer Speed Figure, the highest debut figure since the advent of the Beyers. Other notable debut Beyers for horses who started at 3 include Formal Gold (112), Flightline (105) and Justify (104). :: Visit the Saratoga Handicapping Store for Past Performances, Clocker Reports, Picks, Betting Strategies and more. Expressman is a son of Liam’s Map who was purchased out of the Fasig-Tipton Timonium 2-year-old-in-training sale in May 2021. He had two breezes at Fair Hill last November before incurring a setback, Pletcher said. Expressman didn’t make it back to the worktab until April, again at Fair Hill, before moving on to Monmouth. He had two gate breezes at Saratoga, though Pletcher felt Unlimitedpotential may have gone a little stronger in the second one. Pletcher can only hope Expressman turns into Liam’s Map, who also got a late start to his career, finishing second in his debut on Travers Day (Aug. 23) in 2014. Following that loss, Liam’s Map won six of his next seven starts, including the Grade 1 Woodward and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in 2015. He got beat a neck by Honor Code in the Grade 1 Whitney prior to those two victories. Pletcher didn’t have a race picked out for Expressman, though a first-level allowance is likely next. Pletcher did say in much the way Liam’s Map successfully stretched out in distance, he expects Expressman to do the same. “Certainly, the way he ran yesterday, you’re confident he’d stretch out,” Pletcher said. Expressman, along with fellow 3-year-old Saint Tapit, who is 2 for 2, are in similar spots as Pletcher tries to figure out what to do next with both colts. “Trying to find a nice race to step up in class without having to throw them to the wolves,” Pletcher said. “There are not a ton of options.” :: Get Saratoga Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day.