Five Fastest Maidens, Presented By Taylor Made, For July 21-28

Wandering Eyes · 2025-07-29T15:09:36Z

NOBLE CONFESSOR, SAR, 7/24, 1 3/16 miles (turf) (VIDEO)
Beyer Speed Figure- 83
(c, 3, by Quality Road–Sweeter Than Wine, by Noble Mission {GB})
O/B-St Elias Stable. T-Todd Pletcher. J-Irad Ortiz Jr.
Prior to his Wednesday wire-to-wire victory on the stretch-out to 9 1/2 furlongs, the Vinny Viola product was a six-race maiden despite losing to Zulu Kingdom by a neck in last September's Grade II Pilgrim Stakes (and blowing past on the gallop-out) then finishing 6th while beaten 2 1/4 lengths in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (the third-best finish by a North American-based runner).

TOMMY JO, SAR, 7/26, 6 furlongs (VIDEO)
Beyer Speed Figure- 85
(f, 2, by Into Mischief–Mother Mother, by Pioneerof the Nile)
O/B-Spendthrift Farm (Ky). T-Todd Pletcher. J-John Velazquez.
Definitely the most impressive of Pletcher's five 2-year-old first-timers to win at Saratoga thus far in 2025. Tommy Jo dropped 5 lengths back in the opening furlong while collecting her thoughts, and then blew past the competition. The second foal to race for Mother Mother, who won two ungraded stakes for Bob Baffert but was 2nd or 3rd in three Grade I's.

CIVIL LIBERTY, DMR, 7/26, 5 1/2 furlongs (2nd) (VIDEO)
Beyer Speed Figure-87
(c, 2, by Independence Hall–Love and Respect, by Tiznow)
O-Mark Davis and Great Friends Stables. B-St. Simon Place (Ky). T-Chief Stipe O'Neill. J-Antonio Fresu.
Bet down to 5-1 for his debut after a string of quick breezes, Civil Liberty had the misfortune of running into a buzzsaw named Brant–but more than held his own with a encouraging runnerup finish. He set fast early fractions under pressure, and still checked in 3 1/2 lengths ahead of the rest of the field.

USHA, DMR, 7/27, 6 1/2 furlongs (VIDEO)
Beyer Speed Figure- 95
(f, 3, by Tiz the Law–Animal Appeal, by Leroidesanimaux {Brz})
O-Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman. B-Elser and Raine (NY). T-Bob Baffert. J-Juan Hernandez.
It would be easy to say this came out of nowhere, with her four previous starts topping out at 67 on the Beyer Speed Figure scale. However, she debuted at 2-5 against Proud Starlet and Thought Process exactly one year earlier then was 7-10 next out versus stablemate Tenma. Usha was always highly regarded, and after nine months on the sidelines she reemerged with a vengeance–and paid $11.80 after an 11 1/2-length romp.

BRANT, DMR, 7/26, 5 1/2 furlongs (1st) (VIDEO)
Beyer Speed Figure- 101
(c, 2, by Gun Runner–Tynan, by Liam's Map)
O-Zedan Racing Stables. B-PTK (Ky). T-Bob Baffert. J-Flavien Prat.
Zedan and agent Donato Lanni shattered the OBS record in March by going to $3 million to bring home this colt after he drilled a furlong in 9 3/5 seconds. The steel-gray Brant rolled past Civil Liberty for a 5 1/4-length score at first asking, and his Beyer was the fastest for a 2-year-old debut since fellow Baffert trainees Speed Boat Beach (104) and Cave Rock (101) at the 2022 Del Mar meet. Zedan named him to honor his friend Peter Brant, a longtime owner who shares his enthusiasm for horse racing, polo, and fine art.