The wait for fast 3-year-olds officially ended last Saturday when Destin improved on his 91 Beyer Speed Figure in the Sam F. Davis Stakes with a 100 while winning the Tampa Bay Derby. The place horse, Outwork, improved dramatically, from a 77 to a 98, with a big gap back to third. This is not typically a key Kentucky Derby prep, but these performances were excellent. A half-hour later at Santa Anita, Danzing Candy hit triple digits with a 100 in his San Felipe Stakes win, improving from the 92 he got in an optional claimer. What was most impressive was that the colt outran all the other speed to the top and just kept going. Mor Spirit lost nothing but a race, with a career-best 97 when second to Danzing Candy. Mor Spirit has finished in the top two in all six of his races. He clearly is a very serious Kentucky Derby contender. Exaggerator also ran well in the San Felipe with a 96 for finishing third, giving him a 92, 98, 96 series going back to last year. On to the Rebel Stakes on Saturday at Oaklawn Park, a race in which a 90 Beyer looks like a good number until you consider what just went down last Saturday. This is the time of year when 3-year-olds often make dramatic figure jumps without any particular hint that it is about to happen. That said, American Dubai ran a brilliant race in the Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn, battling for the lead and getting clear in the stretch before being run down by Suddenbreakingnews and Whitmore. While the latter two certainly are contenders in the Rebel, that American Dubai was able to earn an 88 Beyer under those circumstances suggests he could get up into the mid-90s with a less-harried trip, something that is, unfortunately, not guaranteed in a race with more questions than answers. Suddenbreakingnews improved his lifetime-best Beyer 16 points to a 93 in his Southwest win. The miracle late run is his style, so it is possible that 93 is the new normal, but I shall need to see it again in the Rebel. Whitmore’s November debut was astonishing, and he may be ready to deliver on that early promise in the Rebel. This is a horse with serious talent. Rebel contender Cherry Wine was very exciting in his two wins, with incredible moves in each, but has not hit 80 on the Beyer scale. Again, the figures are a guide in the spring, with the knowledge that dramatic change could happen overnight. Bob Baffert does not have any American Pharoahs for Oaklawn Park this year but is trying to win his sixth Rebel with Cupid. The horse has improved in each start, first earning a 67 Beyer, then a 72, and an 88 last month in a powerful maiden win. Another jump, and Cupid is right in the mix in a wide-open race. I love certainty in an uncertain game, so Taris is my kind of horse in the Santa Margarita at Santa Anita on Saturday. Going back to August, when she made her 4-year-old debut, she has a Beyer series of 91, 92, 91, 93, 93, with three graded stakes wins and two thirds. Any of those Beyers may be good enough to win the Santa Margarita, and she looks like she should get a dream trip under Gary Stevens, who somehow is still winning like it is 30 years ago. Tara’s Tango is obviously a serious contender in the Santa Margarita. After she got a career-best 95 when second in the Santa Monica, she came right back with a 94 to win the Santa Maria, proving that the 95 was not a one-off. Not sure what to think of Penwith, who improved her career-best Beyer by nine points in her Royal Delta Stakes win at Gulfstream Park. That 97 certainly computes in this spot, but does it travel across the country? Untapable is a fascinating case study in the Azeri Stakes on Saturday at Oaklawn Park. After a nearly perfect 3-year-old season, she made her 4-year-old debut in this race last season and lost as the 1-10 favorite. That was the tip-off that 2015 would be nothing like 2014. She did not run poorly last year but never had the spark she had as a 3-year-old, winning only once in six tries, with four seconds. Her Beyer series last year was 95, 98, 93, 93, 96, 98 – nice numbers but not like the 104, 107, and 103 she got the year before. Well, here she is for her 5-year-old debut, with 4-year-old Beyers that tower over this field. Only Call Pat, with a 94 last August at Ellis Park, has ever posted a number better than anything on Untapable’s form, and she did it just once. So, in this spot, Untapable looks very much like she did last year in the same race, absolutely the one to beat, but without the same feeling of invulnerability.