fastest maidens

Last week, the fastest maiden by far was also the biggest surprise on our list with a $38.02 win mutuel.   5 - HAPPY DESTINATION, WO, 6/7-7th, 6 furlongs (video) Beyer Speed Figure - 83 (f, 3, by Runhappy--Destination Love, by Friesan Fire) O-Gary Barber. B-BHMFR (Ky). T-Mark Casse. J-Romero Maragh. Casse capped his sensational week with this gate-to-wire debut winner sold as a yearling for $35,000. The Hall of Fame trainer won eight races and made them count - four were stakes (including three Grade Is) at Saratoga, one...

5. LET'S BE FRANK, SA, 3/20-3rd, 1 mile (turf) (Video) Beyer Speed Figure - 83 (2nd) (c, 3, by Liam's Map--Proudly (Kor), by Alternation) O/B-Nice Guys Stables (Ky). T-Michael McCarthy. J-Hector Berrios. It won't tell you much that his dam Proudly earned 3.6 million South Korean won, which currently translates into $2,422. More telling is that Proudly has a recognizable full sister: Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress. The unraced Darley-bred dam of both females, Havisham, was four when she was unloaded for $5,000 and in 2016 had just dropped her...

Five different tracks produced our fastest maidens this week, and the list includes nothing but winners - no runners-up. 5. CREED'S VISION, TAM, 2/14-2nd, 6 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure-89 (g, 4, by Jimmy Creed--Moon Vision, by Pollard's Vision) O-West Point Thoroughbreds, Michael P. Lyden and CJ Stables. B-Country Life Farm and Moon Vision Broodmare (Md). T-Arnaud Delacour. J-Charlie Marquez. West Point could have another solid Maryland-bred on its hands. Jaxon Traveler was recently retired after a remarkable run of sprint stakes wins every year from age 2 to 7,...

5 - TEAM PLAYER, DMR, 11/30-2nd, 5 1/2 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure-83 (g, 3, by Majestic Harbor-Team Decision, by Huddle Up) O-Susan and William Boyd, Kelly and Edwin Gredvig, and Michelle Hanson. B-Harris Farms and Double D Farms (Cal). T-Ryan Hanson. J-Kazushi Kimura. His six siblings to race--all California-breds like him--made a combined 41 starts and none reached the performance level of an 80 Beyer Speed Figure, which Team Player exceeded quite nicely in his second lifetime outing.   4 - VITAL MIND, CD, 11/28-12th, 6 1/2 furlongs (VIDEO)...

5. DYNAMITE TONIGHT, DED, 11/7, 5 furlongs (VIDEO). Beyer Speed Figure-82 (g, 2, by Independence Hall--Shop for Gold, by Speightstown) O-Roger Smith and Keiber Rengifo. B-DocAtty Stables (La). T-Sam Breaux. J-Elio Barrera. $127,000 OBSOPN; Consigned by Golden Rock Thoroughbreds. Having brought $127,000 in June at OBS--a decent price for a Louisiana-bred--he debuted by demolishing state-bred maidens by 8 3/4 lengths in solid time. His pedigree traces to Jack Dreyfus' old Hobeau Farm breeding operation, and New Iberia-based veteran Breaux, 71, has won 2,063 races and more than five dozen stakes....

6. SOLITUDE DUDE, GP, 11/1, 6 1/2 furlongs. (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure- 86 (c, 2, by Yaupon--After the Party, by Into Mischief) O-Chris Fountoukis. B-Martha Buckner and Matthew Ernst (Ky). T-Saffie Joseph, Jr.. J-Micah Husbands. Debuting as third betting choice (another Saffie Joseph first-timer was favored), he drubbed the competition by 9 1/2 lengths after setting the fractions. Joseph signed the $300k ticket in June at OBS for the son of first-crop sire Yaupon. The jury is still out on Yaupon's stamina genes, and Solitude Dude's dam was also a...

5. SKELLIG MICHAEL, GP, 10/18, 7 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure-82 (g, 3, by Battalion Runner--Miss Monk, by Blame) O-Saint Celestine Thoroughbred Management. B-St Elias Stables (Fla). T-Victor Barboza Jr. J-Ernesto Jaramillo. The 4-5 pacesetter looked beaten at the quarter pole, but responded when set down by Jaramillo and kicked away to a five-length victory. The gelding is another bargain from Vinnie Viola's blue-collar stallion Battalion Runner: originally bought for $1,200 as a yearling, then pinhooked for $17k as a June 2-year-old. 4. CONFESSIONAL, KEE, 10/16, 7 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer...

5. CRISIS MANAGER, CD, 9/25, 1 1/16 miles (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure- 81 (4th) (c, 3, by Liam's Map--Wilburnmoney, by Wilburn) O-Highlander Training Center. B-The Elkstone Group (Md). T-Tom Amoss. J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. You know it's a slow week for fast maidens when one race produces four of the top five, but fourth-place Crisis Manager gave a list-worthy performance when ground loss is considered: from his No. 12 post, he was marooned four-wide on both turns. Using data from Equibase's GPS charts (because it's the only game in town for...

5. DISCLAIMER, BAQ, 9/20, 1 mile (turf) (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure- 82 (3rd) (c, 3, by Caracaro--Tara Road, by Quality Road) O-Curragh Stables. B-Joe Jr., John and Karen Mulholland (Ky). T-John Terranova. J-Luis Rivera. As the slight 5/2 favorite after his solid 3rd at Saratoga, he ran his race on numbers but may be better than this. He and runnerup Wicked Improbable (see below) exchanged a bump at the start that appeared minor, yet both wound up farther back than expected. Next-last by 8 lengths down the backstretch, he followed...

5. NU WHAT'S NEW, CD, 9/13, 6 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure- 84 (2nd) (c, 3, by Munnings--Heavenly Scat, by Scat Daddy) O-Doubledown Stables. B-BlackRidge Stables (Ky). T-James Divito. J-Walter Rodriguez. On paper and in mutuels, this former Taylor Made-sold weanling was in a different hemisphere than Subito (below) and some others Saturday, and it looked that way at the quarter pole when he was still 7 lengths behind and seemingly going nowhere. Then something ignited, and he stormed up the inside to barely miss catching Subito while blowing past...

5. Subito, SAR, 7/4, 6 1/2 furlongs (2nd) (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure- 85 (c, 3, by Speightstown--Uno Duo, by Macho Uno) O/B-Juddmonte (Ky). T-Bill Mott. J-Jose Lezcano. Solid career debut: fought from start to finish inside stablemate Fort Nelson, but stayed on his left lead through the stretch and came up just short in a 32-1 Bill Mott exacta. He's a half-brother to Juddmonte's Grade I winner Obligatory, an earner of $1.38 million also trained by Mott. 4. Fort Nelson, SAR, 7/4, 6 1/2 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure- 86...

5. Spun Candy, CD, 6/28, 6 1/2 furlongs (VIDEO) Beyer Speed Figure- 86 (f, 3, by Hard Spun-Sugar Plum Fairy, by Drosselmeyer) O-Commonwealth Stable 3, On Our Own Stable and Dallas Stewart. B-Brushy Hill Stable (Ky). T-Dallas Stewart. J-Brian Hernandez Jr. Another who showed dramatic improvement--topping her previous high Beyer by 18 points--in her first try over a wet surface. A modest $85k Ocala 2-year-old purchase, she had been knocking heads with tough maidens in her first five starts, including Immersive and Senza Parole. 4. Roofer, BAQ, 6/27, 6 furlongs...