Thoroughbred Daily News – Steve Sherack 5/2/26
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 the top of the stretch and the stage was set.
Crude Velocity just kept on coming though and leveled off late to power on by with authority by 3 3/4 lengths in a stakes-record 1:33.87.
“This horse is a freaky horse,” Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert said while declining to confirm if a potential trip to the Preakness is in the cards for the winner. “He is so talented. I was very surprised that he was able to win first out with all of the trouble he got in. If he stays healthy, we’ll be hearing from this horse down the road.”
Crude Velocity won his first two starts going 6 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita Mar. 7 and Apr. 4. He overcame a nightmare trip to graduate by a neck for ‘Rising Star’ honors first time out, then romped with blinkers off facing older horses in an optional claimer last time. The latter was good for a 100 Beyer Speed Figure.
“He was a lot more professional today and put me in the right spot,” winning jockey Florent Geroux said. “Since the blinkers have been removed, he’s been a dream to ride. He’s able to follow very fast fractions easily and I attacked Englishman at the quarter-pole and responded well. He’s an amazing horse. He’s not very big and I have worked in the mornings and I told Bob (Baffert) it was the best 3-year-old in his barn. I wish we had more time to develop and I think he would have been in the Derby today.”
Pedigree Notes:
Hailing from the first crop of Beau Liam, Crude Velocity brought $250,000 from Bill Childs’s CSLR Racing Partners after breezing a quarter in :20 1/5 at last year’s June 2-Year-Old in Training and Horses of Racing Age sale. He was previously a $12,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall yearling and a $3,000 Fasig-Tipton December Digital graduate.
He becomes the first graded/fourth stakes winner for Beau Liam. Crude Velocity was produced by the unraced Lemon Drop Kid mare Sweetnsour Kitty, just a $2,000 purchase by breeder La Ciega at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky February sale.
The winner’s dam has a Highly Motivated 2-year-old filly ($325,000 RNA OBSAPR), a Beau Liam yearling filly and a Corniche filly of this year in the pipeline.
Saturday, Churchill Downs
PAT DAY MILE S. PRESENTED BY SAP-GII, $741,330, Churchill Downs, 5-2, 3yo, 1m, 1:33.87, ft.
1–CRUDE VELOCITY, 118, c, 3, by Beau Liam
1st Dam: Sweetnsour Kitty, by Lemon Drop Kid
2nd Dam: Anniversary Kitty, by Tribal Rule
3rd Dam: Justanotherblonde, by Bertrando
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($12,000 Ylg ’24 FTKOCT; $3,000 Ylg ’24 FTDDE; $250,000 2yo ’25 OBSOPN). O-CSLR Racing Partners, LLC; B-La Ciega LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Florent Geroux. $438,820. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $522,820. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Englishman, 118, c, 3, Maxfield–In It for the Gold, by Speightstown. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($240,000 Wlg ’23 KEENOV; $400,000 Ylg ’24 KEESEP). O-C R K Stable LLC; B-Fifth Avenue Bloodstock (KY); T-Cherie DeVaux. $142,200.
3–Stop the Car, 118, c, 3, Maximum Security–Pussyfoot, by Tiznow. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($110,000 2yo ’25 OBSAPR). O-Trade Winds Farm; B-Gary & Mary West Stables Inc. (KY); T-Brendan P. Walsh. $71,100.
Margins: 3 3/4, 2 3/4, HF. Odds: 1.57, 1.68, 13.56.
Also Ran: Secured Freedom, Crown the Buckeye, Creole Chrome, One More Freud, Trouble Calling, Lockstocknpharoah, Work, Baytown Dreamer. Scratched: Great White.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
