Watershed impresses in allowance score

LEXINGTON, Ky. – He won’t run in the Breeders’ Cup, but Watershed once again suggested he’s a colt with a bright future when easily winning a first-level allowance on Thursday at Keeneland.

“He’s a very nice colt,” trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said afterward from New York. “I’m not sure what we’ll do next. I’m sure we can find something suitable.”

A Godolphin Racing homebred, Watershed trailed the field in the Beard Course race (seven furlongs and 184 feet) to the quarter pole, where jockey Joel Rosario swung him out for the drive. Within seconds, the 3-year-old Bernardini colt was in front, and Rosario never really asked him when finishing in 1:26.58 and earning an 89 Beyer Speed Figure.

Watershed quickly came to prominence this summer at Saratoga with a four-length debut win (97 Beyer) and a fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 King’s Bishop (98 Beyer), both with tardy breaks.