LAUREL, MD. - “I almost messed it up,” jockey Feargal Lynch said as he dismounted Perform following the late-developing colt’s desperate head victory over Ninetyprcentmaddie in Saturday’s $125,000 Federico Tesio Stakes for 3-year-olds traveling 1 1/8 miles at Laurel Park. Lynch had an important choice to make at a crucial moment. Should he go inside or outside a tiring Nineyprcentmaddie with less than a furlong to race? “I knew from the half-mile that I had to figure out a way through there, and that was going to be the hardest bit,” Lynch said in the winner’s circle. “I saw Paco [Lopez, Ninetyprcentmaddie’s rider] coming off [the rail], and I knew that if I was going up that inside, he was going to get me, so I went around and hoped that I’d have time.” He did have just enough time, but Lynch wasn’t sure he’d ever get to that contending position. “He just wasn’t gripping the ground,” Lynch said. “Going into the first turn, I was expecting him to be keen, but I thought I was in trouble going down the back. I’m just not handling the track.” :: Take your handicapping to the next level and play with FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic.  As Perform tried to find his footing while last of the nine sophomores, Coffeewithchris set solid fractions of 24.47 and 48.48 while being pressured by Ninetyprcentmaddie. “I got in behind Sheldon [Russell, the rider of beaten favorite Prince of Jericho], and he just got braver and braver, and he just kept picking it up.” Ninetyprcentmaddie put Coffeewithchris away after six furlongs in 1:12.93 and opened a clear lead inside the three-sixteenths pole, but he was noticeably leg-weary. At this point, Lynch looked like a New York City taxi driver during rush hour. Perform, in receipt of six pounds from the runner-up, followed Prince of Jericho into the stretch, maneuvered around tiring Fletcher, altered course inside Prince of Jericho, then eased out to nab Ninetyprcentmaddie in 1:52.18. Summer Cause was 1 1/4 lengths behind in third. Then came Eldest Son, Coffeewithchris, Prince of Jericho, Circling the Drain, Time to Cruise, and Fletcher. Perform returned $22 to win as the sixth choice in the wagering. The Tesio winner was offered an automatic berth in the Preakness Stakes if nominated to the Triple Crown, but Perform would have to be supplemented for a $150,000 fee at entry time to participate. “He’s a nice horse,” Lynch said. “It’s a shame he’s not in the Preakness, but distance is his friend. I knew with all that speed up in front, it was always going to set up a horse coming from behind.” Perform was bred in Kentucky by Michael and J B Lane Orem. Purchased for $230,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, he races for Woodford Racing, Lane’s End Farm, Phipps Stable, Ken Langone and Edward Hudson Jr. A well-bred son of Good Magic from the family of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Mendelssohn, two-time Breeders’ Cup winner Beholder, and perennial leading stallion Into Mischief, Perform “was a little bit of a disappointment” earlier in his career, according to trainer Shug McGaughey during a Thursday morning interview with Daily Racing Form. Beaten five times against maidens while facing quality horses such as Disarm, Raise Cain and Mage, Perform graduated in his first start around two turns going a mile and 40 yards at Tampa Bay on March 11. McGaughey mentioned that getting Perform to settle in the early portion of that race was key to his success. “We took him over to Tampa and got him back off the pace and got two turns into him,” McGaughey said. “He ran a pretty darn good race.” The Tesio was Lynch’s first win of 2023 from only five mounts. At 45, the veteran rider takes the winters off. “My parents live in Spain for the winter, so I play golf with my dad every day.” Lynch said. “At my age, I enjoy it more coming back for these races especially. It really lights me on fire.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.