Shancelot’s 121 Beyer reaches new dimension

Shancelot left the Saratoga starting gate at 6:39 p.m Sunday. When he arrived at the finish line precisely 1:14.01 after passing the timing beam 82 feet in front of the gate, the 3-year-old colt had not only run out of the TV set, he had run right into Beyer Speed Figure history.

The 121 Beyer was the best by any 3-year-old sprinter in the 27-year history of the Beyer Speed Figures being published in Daily Racing Form. It was the third fastest by any 3-year-old doing anything in that period. Only Holy Bull’s 122 in the 1994 Met Mile and Arrogate’s 122 in the 2016 Travers have been better.

Just three 3-year-old sprinters had hit the magic 120 mark since 1993 – Kelly Kip in 1997, Xtra Heat in 2001, and Cajun Beat in 2003.

The 121 was the Best Beyer sprinting by horses of any age since Midnight Lute got a 124 in 2007. And, to think Shancelot got his 121 in just his third career start.

The margin of victory and the horses that finished second, third, and fourth in the Amsterdam told the Beyer story. Shancelot won by 12 1/2 lengths, which equals 26 Beyer points at 6 1/2 furlongs. Nitrous, who finished second, had just gotten a 94 Beyer Speed Figure in the Woody Stephens after getting a 93 in his prior race. He got a 95 Sunday. Honest Mischief just came off an 89 in the Woody Stephens and a 97 in his prior race. He got a 92 in the Amsterdam. Super Comet got an 86 for his fourth-place finish. His prior two Beyers were 88 and 85.

Trainer Jorge Navarro had been saying for weeks that Shancelot was the best horse he has trained. He may have been underselling the colt’s talent.

It was a throwback display of raw speed. Shancelot flew out of the gate, was clear in a few strides and just gone – 21.79, 43.94, 1:07.63 (faster than Imperial Hint’s six-furlong track record set the day before, but with an 82-foot run-up as opposed to the 45 feet in Imperial Hint’s race). Up by 6, up by 10, up by 12 1/2. And watch the replay. Shancelot still wanted to run beyond the wire.

“There are a lot of historical dimensions to it,” Andrew Beyer said. “American racing, whose hallmark used to be speed, has really seen the disappearance of the great, fast sprinters. Displays of raw speed are a little less common. . . . I’m very pleased to see it as a speed-figure guy that loves speed. It’s nice to see a horse like this come along.”

Perhaps with all the grass racing and riders wanting to rate everything, we have been in the midst of a stylistic change and not for the better.

There was no ambiguity with the 121. It was very real.

It also took Beyer back three years to a similar speed-figure situation.

“This race reminded me of Frosted’s Met Mile,” Beyer said. “You said: ‘How could Frosted run this big?’ But the whole field behind him could run a 100. And he wins by a dozen lengths.”

Frosted, in fact, got a 123 Beyer in the 2016 Met Mile. He won the race by 14 1/4 lengths, which equals 25 Beyer points at one mile. As it was the horse’s 16th career race, the 123 really looked like a one-off. Frosted had never come close to that before and did not come close in three subsequent starts.

I am not at all sure Shancelot’s 121 is a one-off. Remember it was only his third race. The colt hit triple digits in his second start. This feels different. It definitely looked different.

A very fast debut win

When the race happens on a Saturday that Enable wins an unforgettable stretch duel at Ascot and Imperial Hint breaks a Saratoga record, and the day before Shancelot, it would be easy to ignore a seven-furlong maiden special at Ellis Park. We at Beyer Central, however, do not ignore 2-year-olds winning by 19 1/4 lengths and getting a 97 Beyer Speed Figure. That would be the Dale Romans-trained Dennis’ Moment.

The colt clipped heels and lost his rider in a Churchill Downs debut on June 23. The connections of Long Weekend, who won that maiden special with a 64 Beyer, might want to thank the racing gods.

No horse got close enough to Dennis’ Moment at Ellis to cause any issues. I doubt he is going to hit 121 someday, but the reason we keep watching is one day we really are going to see something we never expected.