Racing columnist Andrew Beyer has long been considered one of the most highly respected handicappers in the world, and his Beyer Speed Figures are held by many to be indispensable when it comes to handicapping a race or evaluating the performances of horses from one racetrack to another.

          Daily Racing Form publishes the ‘Beyers’ and since the beginning of the year it has listed the following races from Gulfstream Park as the year’s top three races at a mile or less:

·        This Ones for Phil’s performance (a 115 BSF) in the Jan. 24 Sunshine Millions Dash, six furlongs in 1:09.10;

·        Notonthesamepage’s showing (113) in the six-furlong Spectacular Bid Stakes Jan. 3, in which he went six furlongs in 1:08.48, and;

·        Quality Road’s sterling race (also 113) in the Fountain of Youth, in which he ran a mile in 1:35.01 on Feb. 28.

          These performances sit atop a category that takes in performances by horses of all ages: The presence of This One’s for Phil, Notonthesamepage and Quality Road atop the category is especially noteworthy in that each is a 3-year-old, further evidence of Gulfstream Park’s standing as the nation’s proving ground for racing’s marquee division.

          Their three races are ranked second, third and fourth on the list of top performances at any distance by a 3-year-old in 2009, trailing only Rachel Alexandra’s 116 rating in the 1 1/8-mile Haskell Stakes at Monmouth Aug. 2.

          Incidentally, Quality Road’s track record in the nine-furlong March 28 Florida Derby (1:47.72) is also among the top races by a 3-year-old at any distance this year: He earned a 111 after whipping Belmont Stakes-placed Dunkirk. 

Baker’s Dozen Grade 1 Winners Have Come From 2009 Gulfstream Meet – So Far 

          Although the winner of a Triple Crown race didn’t come out of the 2009 Gulfstream Park meeting, the stand served its traditional purpose as a launch pad for future super performances, as evidenced by the 13 horses that left winter quarters to take Grade 1 races, from one end of the country to the other.

          Perhaps the most noteworthy performance thus far, with the important autumn races still to be decided, was Einstein’s tour de force in the Santa Anita Handicap on March 7. It was the first Grade 1 win of the year for a Gulfstream Park alum, and that Grade 1 victory over a synthetic track preceded his Grade 1 turf-course victory in the Woodford Reserve at Churchill Downs.

          The most recent Grade 1 winner came Sept. 12, when Swift Temper took Belmont’s Ruffian. The list of Gulfstream Park’s Grade 1 winners thus far this year follows:

·        Bribon                          Metropolitan (G1)                Belmont                May 25

·        Bullsbay                       Whitney (G1)                       Saratoga                Aug. 8

·        Capt. Candyman Can        King’s Bishop (G1)              Saratoga                Aug. 29

·        Einstein                        Santa Anita Handicap (G1)   Santa Anita            March 7

·                                           Woodford Reserve (G1)          Churchill Downs    May 2

·        Funny Moon                 CCA Oaks (G1)                   Belmont                July 25

·        Game Face                   Princess Rooney (G1)          Calder                   July 11

·        Gozzip Girl                   American Oaks (G1)            Hollywood            July 5

·        Icon Project                  Personal Ensign (G1)           Saratoga                Aug. 30

·        Macho Again                Stephen Foster (G1)             Churchill Downs    June 13

·        Mr. Sidney                   Maker’s Mark Mile (G1)       Keeneland             April 10

·        Presious Passion           United Nations (G1)             Monmouth            July 4       

·        Swift Temper                Ruffian (G1)                        Belmont                Sept. 12

·        Take the Points             Secretariat (G1)                    Arlington               Aug. 8