Promising Maymun remains unbeaten with neck victory

The highly promising 3-year-old colt Maymun remained unbeaten after two starts with an eventful win in a one-mile allowance race at Santa Anita on Sunday.

Maymun, the easy winner of a maiden race at 6 1/2 furlongs in his debut on Jan. 20, beat stablemate Imagination by a neck on Sunday, but only after he was passed in the stretch and rallied in the final sixteenth to regain the lead.

Maymun, trained by Bob Baffert for Amr Zedan, ran a mile in 1:36.65 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 89. Baffert also trains Imagination.

Ridden by Juan Hernandez, Maymun ($2.60) set a moderate pace of 23.91 seconds for the opening quarter-mile, and 48.07 for a half-mile while being stalked by Imagination.

:: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets.

On the turn, Imagination, ridden by Flavien Prat, engaged Maymun and took a narrow lead into the stretch. Imagination (2-1) led by a half-length with a furlong remaining before Maymun rallied on the inside.

“I think he’s still a little green,” Hernandez said after Sunday’s program. “He’s learning how to run. I think he got a little intimidated when the outside horse attacked me.

“He didn’t want to pick it up when the outside horse got next to me. That’s why he was a little shy. When I switched my whip to the left hand at the eighth pole, he responded. He galloped out pretty good.

“It was his second start and first at one mile. He’s still learning and he felt really good. I think he’ll be a good horse down the road.

“He showed he can run.”

American Hope, a 15-1 chance who displayed feisty behavior behind the gate before the start, finished third, beaten 10 3/4 lengths. Last Call London, winner of the King Glorious Stakes for California-bred 2-year-olds at Los Alamitos in December, finished fourth, followed by Thompson in the field of five.

Revised Stature, an unraced colt purchased for $1.8 million at the Keeneland September yearling sale in 2022, was withdrawn.

Maymun, a colt by Frosted, was purchased for $900,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sale of 2-year-olds in training last April, one of the five most expensive hips of the four-day auction.

Maymun has earned $79,200 for his two wins. He won his debut by 7 1/2 lengths.

Maymun is nominated to the Triple Crown, but is ineligible to start in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 4 after the track banned Baffert’s runners from the race this year for the third consecutive season. The ban stems from a positive found in a post-race test taken from the Baffert-trained Medina Spirit after that colt finished first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby.

Baffert announced on Jan. 22 that he was dropping litigation related to the Medina Spirit positive, but Churchill Downs did not alter its position.

Maymun is eligible to start in the final two races of the Triple Crown – the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 18, and the Belmont Stakes on June 8, which this year is being run at Saratoga.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.