This was a 3rd success in a row for Brad Cox’s charge, who has a perfect record in New York after wins in a maiden and the Nashua Stakes over this course and distance in November. A finishing speed of 92% might suggest that there was a strong early pace, but in fact things were relatively sedate as both Balboa and Freedom’s Echo disputed the early lead. The fastest furlong split in the entire race was the 11.30s recorded in the 2nd furlong by Enforced Agenda which perhaps reflects the size of the field and the manner with which the race was run. However, once Balboa got the better of the early exchanges, he pushed on with mid-race furlongs of 11.85, 12.58 and 12.57s as he attempted to kick for home. He was briefly on top, passing the 2 furlong pole in the straight with a lead of 2 lengths (0.19s) but he wasn’t able to entirely shake off the attentions of My World and once Jaime Rodriguez was able to get his mount organised, the gap quickly closed. Both horses were paying the price for their exertions around the turn, but despite the fact that Balboa recorded the fastest times for furlongs 6 and 7, this came at time where his average stride length was shortening considerably and he had very little left to repel the strong staying My World, whose stride frequency data points to a horse with stamina in abundance. When winning the Nashua Stakes in November, My World recorded the highest peak average stride frequency figure in the field at 2.56 per second and he matched that same figure on Saturday afternoon. By comparison, Balboa recorded a peak of 2.4 stride per second, Enforced Agenda 2.36 and Freedom’s Echo 2.44. My World is the most compact horse of the 4 runners, with an average stride length of 22.23 ft, but he’s a very honest Colt and clearly relishes this mile trip. 

My World is part of the first crop of 3-year-olds for Essential Quality, who won both the Belmont Stakes and the Travers for Brad Cox in 2021. His trainer appeared to imply that he felt My World had been blessed with his Sire’s stamina and there is at least some evidence to suggest that he may well get a 2 turn trip from this data, even if the small field does mean that it needs to be treated with some caution. He seems likely to contest the Withers Stakes at the end of the month to test that theory and if he emerges from that with a similarly strong finish, then he may yet be capable of going further along the road to the run for the roses. Either way he has now come close to returning the $350,000 investment that his connections made when purchasing him at the Keeneland Yearling Sale in 2024 when he was part of the Warrendale consignment.