The connections of Liam’s Map have one of America’s fastest horses, one who would be very dangerous if loose on the lead in the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic. They have been mostly thinking about racing him in the BC Dirt Mile, but the horse’s Beyer Speed Figures suggest they really should take a long look at the Classic. We are talking Beyers of 112, 113, and 114 in the colt’s last three two-turn races, something no horse in America has come close to doing this year. Last Saturday’s Woodward Stakes was a mismatch against some quality competition. It will be interesting to see what they decide. Remember when the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs was a really big deal? Go back 26 years, and the horse who came closest to the “Grand Slam’’ used the race as an easy win for a Classic prep. Sunday Silence won the 1989 Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Classic. He also got blown away by Easy Goer in the Belmont Stakes. The Super Derby is no longer very super. In fact, none of this year’s seven entrants has hit 90 on the Beyer scale. Four of the horses ran in the Aug. 8 Super Derby Prelude. The Pickett Factor won the race with an 87 and has been gradually getting better all year, winning four of five, with a third-place finish. In a race without much early speed, the gelding should be prominent from the start and be able to work out a very nice trip. Prime Engine is a great example of why speed figures are so important and why time without context is meaningless. The colt won the Aug. 9 Emerald Derby at Emerald Downs by six lengths, running the 1 1/8 miles in 1:47.54, just off the track record. Well, Emerald regularly produces some of the country’s fastest times, and this day was no exception. The surface actually got faster as the day went on. The track variant for the final few races was -55, or six full seconds at nine furlongs. Once the variant was applied to the raw speed figure, Prime Engine’s assigned Beyer was an 83, putting that really fast time into proper context. The Sands Point at Belmont Park is almost certainly going to come down to trips because the best of these 3-year-old fillies have very similar form and figures. Sentiero Italia and Miss Temple City were one-two in the Lake Placid, separated by 1 1/4 lengths. Sentiero Italia has earned an improved figure in every start, going from a 64 to an 84 (first-time Lasix), followed by 86, 92, and 95 in the Lake Placid, her first stakes win. If she goes forward again, she is the likely winner. Strict Compliance was third in the Lake Placid and came right back to win the Sept. 5 Boiling Springs at Monmouth Park, getting a 92 and confirming the Lake Placid figure. Going back to April, Mrs McDougal has compiled figures of 90, 91, and 91 when she won the Lake George, beating Feathered, who came back to win an optional claimer with a 90 Beyer. She may not be quite as fast as some of the others, but her figures are very consistent – always a positive trait. It is hard for me to resist a horse with Hyper’s résumé in the Kentucky Turf Cup at Kentucky Downs. The 8-year-old, with 10 wins, 6 seconds, and 5 thirds in 27 starts, obviously can handle the 1 1/2-mile distance. He has not won in 2015, but he’s been in very tough and still was able to compile Beyers of 98, 98, 90, and 93. This might be the spot. Da Big Hoss is not Da Hoss-caliber, but he’s not bad, coming off a breakthrough win in the John’s Call two races after getting claimed for $50,000. The distance fits after a win at 1 5/8 miles, and the four consecutive 90-plus Beyers are comforting. Power Ped arrives from Southern California with a competitive set of figures after running competitively against some of the better long-distance grass runners out there. You can put a line through Quiet Force’s no-show in the Arlington Million. Remember, it poured not long before the race, and the horse obviously hated the going. Five weeks before the Million, Quiet Force won the Arlington Handicap with a 100 Beyer, one of just two triple-digit Beyers in this field. Hyper got the other, a 101 when second to Joshua Tree in the 2013 Canadian International.