The promising three-year-old colt Bayern brought his record to a perfect 2-for-2 on February 13th when he unleashed spectacular acceleration in the final furlongs of a one-mile allowance race at Santa Anita, drawing clear to win by fifteen lengths under a hand ride.
The son of Offlee Wild out of Alittlebitearly (by Thunder Gulch) was sent straight to the lead early on by Gary Stevens, and ran the opening quarter-mile in :24.03 while being pursued by Brother Soldier and Tap It Rich, who both started slowly before pulling their riders up into contention. Flagman and Baranof were the trailers.
With Brother Soldier and Tap It Rich continuing to apply pressure, Bayern picked up the pace inside the second quarter mile, running the distance in :23.74 to reach the half-mile in :47.77. Then came one of the most impressive final half-miles run by a three-year-old in recent memory.
Under no urging Stevens, Bayern began to open up an advantage on his rivals -- slowly at first, then faster. As the field raced past the quarter pole, Bayern was five lengths in front, and had run his third quarter in an exceptional :24 seconds flat. And he didn't stop there. With Stevens now hand-urging just a bit, and waving the whip without actually using it, Bayern continued to extend his lead, and was eleven lengths clear with a furlong to go, having run the seventh furlong of the race in an eye-catching :11.82 seconds. From there, the question was simply how big a margin of victory Bayern would record, and after the colt sped through his final furlong in :12.18 -- to stop the timer in 1:35.77 -- the answer was fifteen lengths.
Tap It Rich was second best at the finish by 5 3/4 lengths over Brother Soldier, while Flagman and Baranof completed the order of finish.
Owned by Kaleem Shah and trained by Bob Baffert, Bayern has without question stamped himself as a contender for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), and looks bound for a graded stakes in the near future. In many respects, his victory was reminiscent of Bodemeister's maiden victory two years ago. Time will tell of Bayern can emulate or exceed the accomplishments of Bodemeister, who went on to win the Arkansas Derby (gr. I) and place second in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes (gr. I), but after watching Bayern's effortless victory, I believe he has the potential.
-Keelerman
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