Nashville, after record-setting victory, may point to Malibu Stakes

Nashville, who set a track record in winning the $125,000 Perryville Stakes on the Breeders' Cup undercard Saturday at Keeneland, will step up to Grade 1 company for his next outing, with the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes on Dec. 26 at Santa Anita the most likely target.

Nashville, who is trained by Steve Asmussen for WinStar Farm and China Horse Club, won the Perryville, his stakes debut, by 3 1/2 lengths while blitzing the six furlongs in 1:07.89. He earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 102 for the win, his second consecutive triple-digit figure, and has now won his three starts by a combined 24 3/4 lengths.

"Another incredible performance, and super-excited about his future," WinStar president Elliott Walden said Sunday morning.

Walden said that the Malibu at seven furlongs and the Grade 1 Cigar Mile against older horses on Dec. 5 at Aqueduct are both under consideration for Nashville. The more likely spot is the Malibu, where, as in the Perryville, Nashville will face 3-year-olds.

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"Looking at the Perryville, that was a logical steppingstone for [the Malibu]," Walden said. "Most likely the Malibu."

Remaining with 3-year-olds continues the discipline the connections have exercised with the brilliant, but inexperienced, Nashville. After dominating his first two starts, the colt had been pre-entered for both the Breeders' Cup Sprint and the Dirt Mile before ultimately opting for a softer spot.

"We did try to do the right thing by him," Walden said. "We just felt like in his third start, it was better to let him grow into that. It just seemed like [the Breeders' Cup] was a big, big jump."

Trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday morning that Nashville's foes for the Malibu are likely to include Charlatan, who won his first two starts but hasn't raced since crossing the line first in a division of the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on May 2, a victory from which he was later disqualified due to post-race testing showing an excessive amount of a legal medication. The colt recently returned to the work tab with a pair of moves at Santa Anita.

Charlatan, who will be cutting back to one turn, and Nashville are both by Speightstown, a champion sprinter who stands at WinStar.

"That could be an exciting race," Baffert said.