the story of Speedboat Beach was launched on December 4, when the brilliantly nimble pony showed another side to winning $100,000 of Cecil B. DeMille (G3T) Shares at Del Mar.
After the race, coach Bob Baffert compared Speed Boat Beach to his grandfather, Bayern who Baffert coached for two 1st grade wins and over $4.4 million.
Baffert told TVG: “I think he can be like his father, the older he gets, the further he will go. “Bayern doesn’t want to go long until the end of his 3-year-old career. But it’s good to know that he can go two turns and he can go further. So now we have (many) choose (on) the pitch or dirt.”
Bayern really hit his stride later in his 3-year-old campaign, ending 2014 with a thrilling Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) victory on a star-studded field. However, unlike his versatile 2-year-old son, Bayern have only raced on the ground in his 15 trips as a guest.
Speed Boat Beach was on everyone’s radar during the fall Del Mar meetup after winning for owners Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman in a riveting debut. Ocala Breeders’ $200,000 Sales for a two-year-old in training burned 5 1/2 feathers on the ground in a record time of 1:01, 86 over time is appreciated Hejazi .
Struggling at his pace again, Speed Boat Beach ran 5 feathers in the grass at a rate of: 55.25 (only 2 seconds short of the record) in the Speakeasy Stakes at Santa Anita . Park before running in the Breeders’ Cup Junior Sprint (G1T).
In a race where the Europeans took a 1-2 lead, Speed Boat Beach could never pass Keeneland pitch on Future Stars Friday and finished in a dull ninth.
Instead of putting the pony back on the ground, Baffert chose to give it another try on the lawn at Cecil B. DeMille. Exiting column 7, Flavien Prat drives Speed Boat Beach in and the foal quickly joins Game time to prevail early. This pair is compressed over fractions :22.82, :47.30 and 1:12.08. Striking his stride at the top of the lane, Game Time and Umberto Rispoli battle to the end, with Speed Boat Beach edging past its stubborn opponent by half the length below the rope.
Favorite Speed Boat Beach ($5.40) ran a mile in 1:35.38 on a solid track.
First peace second choice after an impressive first win on October 29 at Santa Anita, 1 3/4 of the way behind the top two.
Pioneer of the Nile mare Sophia Mia.
Baffert, earning his first win with Cecil B. DeMille, has no objection to getting Speed Boat Beach back to the dust if lucrative outer-city purses beckon next spring.
“He’s absolutely a racehorse,” Baffert said. “Dust, grass, good guys just watch them. I think we’ll have a lot of fun with him.”
Video: Cecil B. DeMille S. (G3T)
