Beau Liam

PICKITUPTHATSGOOD (Girvin--Heart of Midway, by Stevie Wonderboy) was unveiled as the 4-5 choice here and settled midpack up the backstretch. With good energy around the far turn, the favorite began turn up the heat to the outside as the field entered the lane. The filly fired on all cylinders, seized the lead inside the final furlong and won by four lengths over the 'Insighted' Janie Not Jeanie (Mandaloun). The winner's dam is responsible for 3-year-old filly in-training On Ramp (Beau Liam) and a yearling filly by Complexity. A half-sister to...

It's just like Wayne Lukas used to tell him. "One of these days you're going to get smart," Lukas would say. "And you'll quit that. And come over to the Thoroughbred business." This was when Bill Childs was still in the Quarter Horse game, and Lukas had already made the switch that transformed our sport. "Well, you're right," Childs told Lukas. "I'd love to. But man, it just takes so much money to be able to withstand it." "Well," Lukas shrugged. "You'll figure it out." And here he is, all...

Every dogmatist will have his day. Overall, however, our sport is too variable and unpredictable to sustain inflexible rules. As an old school type, admittedly, it's hard to resist treating Golden Tempo (Curlin)-culmination of a multi-generational breed-to-race project-as a reproof to those who breed horses to stand on a dais, rather than in the winner's circle. After all, the Phipps program is no longer as extensive as when it acquired his sixth dam, champion Lady Pitt (Sword Dancer), in 1969. So a GI Kentucky Derby winner in its centenary year...

Billed as a showdown between a pair of unbeaten 'TDN Rising Stars, presented by Hagyard' in these pages back in early April, Crude Velocity (Beau Liam) outslugged Englishman (Maxfield) in a dynamite renewal of the GII Pat Day Mile S. Just like he did in his first two starts, 3-2 favorite Crude Velocity did not exit the stalls well, but recovered impressively to thread his way through traffic to press the rail-drawn, 8-5 second-choice Englishman from second through sharp fractions of :22.06 and :44.20. Crude Velocity drew up alongside at...

During the 2023 foaling season, Donamire Farm welcomed a group of nine foals. Among that foal crop were four colts sired by Constitution, Beau Liam, Dialed In and Blame. For the first time since their early days growing up in the field together, three of the four colts born that year—now known as Chief Wallabee (Constitution), Crude Velocity (Beau Liam), and Trouble Calling (Dialed In)—will have a 'reunion' Saturday, May 2 under the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs. 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Chief Wallabee, runner-up in the GII...

A pair of very talented, unbeaten 3-year-olds could potentially face off in the GII Pat Day Mile S. on Kentucky Derby day at Churchill Downs. Crude Velocity (Beau Liam) will take his two-for-two record to Louisville for Bob Baffert following a powerful, 6 3/4-length victory over older horses in an optional claimer at Santa Anita Saturday. He earned a 100 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. The $250,000 OBS June graduate previously overcame an impossible trip to win at first asking by a neck Mar. 7, good for 'TDN Rising...

Crude Velocity (Beau Liam), already named a 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' for his debut win over course and distance March 7, stepped up to face winners Saturday for the first time. Racing without his blinkers as the 1-2 favorite, the Triple Crown-nominated colt had early traffic to deal with as he sat off the pace from just behind a leading pair past the half-mile pole. Circling the field under his own power, he easily headed For All Mankind (Into Mischief) off the far turn and opened up in...

A Kentucky Derby prep race could be next for Crude Velocity (Beau Liam), who overcame an impossible trip to win on debut with 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' honors for Bob Baffert at Santa Anita Mar. 7. "We're gonna leave California with him," owner Bill Childs said after reloading at last week's OBS March sale. "There are more opportunities for him outside of California. Bob will still have him. We want to take dead aim on what we're doing being something worthwhile. We're gonna try to target something that...

The two new names on the GI Kentucky Derby trail each exemplify one of the principal alternatives to what nowadays feels like the ideal route, namely to exploit the imbalances of the commercial market with a breed-to-race program. Nobody having ever operated one of those on a scale as lavish as the one that produced Sovereignty (Into Mischief), the choice between these other models is strictly practical. If you can run to $2.4 million for a Saratoga yearling, as did Speedway Stable for the Into Mischief colt we now know...

A Baffert longshot in a Santa Anita maiden race (that isn't a misprint) tops this week's list. 5). MAYKOMOTION, TAM, 3/7, 7 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure- 84 (c, 3, by Vekoma--Maymont, by Unbridled's Song) O-Bona Venture Stables and Bianco Stable. B-Dominique Damico (Fla). T-George Weaver. J-John Velazquez. He couldn't match strides with the likes of Jackson Hole in his first start in December, but outran these from the start and was drawing away through the final quarter. His five half-siblings to race have been predominantly cheap claimers, but this...

CSLR Racing Partners, LLC's Crude Velocity (c, 3, Beau Liam--Sweetnsour Kitty, by Lemon Drop Kid) overcame a nightmare journey to become the first 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' for his young sire. One of three entered by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert and overlooked at generous debut odds of 10-1, he was off to a slow start from his rail draw and trailed the field of nine shortly after the break. He rushed up beneath Florent Geroux and was under a tight hold racing in traffic just behind the...

Tough at the top? Try the view from the base of the pyramid, where we begin our quest for value among sires already at stud in Kentucky. We have dealt with the rookies separately, as a case apart. But while many of those standing at four figures are also younger horses, essentially unproven, their commercial luster has already faded. As we keep noting, the claim that new sires represent your only chance of catching the next Into Mischief falls apart when the same horses are abandoned precisely as they are...