Bob Baffert is no stranger to talented horses, so when he deems a horse "freaky" it is best to pay attention.
That praise from the Hall of Famer was justified in a big way May 2 when the unbeaten Crude Velocity overpowered previously unbeaten Englishman in the stretch of the $741,330 Pat Day Mile Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs, setting a stakes record.
"I knew he was something really special," Baffert said about the 3-year-old son of Beau Liam . "He's a freaky horse, a really freaky horse."
The $250,000 purchase from the 2025 Ocala Breeders' Sales June 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale got a delayed start to his career, grinding out a neck victory on debut in March. He then followed on the April 4 Santa Anita Derby (G1) undercard with a 6 3/4-length triumph against allowance foes.
Baffert said he was the kind of horse that could have elevated directly into the Santa Anita Derby in an attempt to make the Kentucky Derby (G1), but that he chose the conservative approach to be able to properly develop him.
"When you have a horse of this kind of freaky talent, I want to manage that the right way," Baffert said. "I don't want to cook him."
Jockey Florent Geroux has been aboard for all three starts and also believes Crude Velocity is of the quality of the division's best.
"I wish he had a little more time to develop and maybe he probably would've been in the Derby," Geroux said. "He's an amazing horse. He's not very big by the size of him but, (since) prior to his debut, I've been able to work him on a weekly basis. I always told Bob this is probably the best 3-year-old in your barn."
Geroux has seen steady progression in the colt's professionalism since his debut, especially following the removal of blinkers ahead of the allowance win. On Saturday, he again didn't break the fleetest, but Geroux got him in contention, racing second behind Englishman down the backstretch.
The race then essentially unfolded like a match race, which is exactly what the bettors predicted as the 3-2 Crude Velocity and 8-5 Englishman were the only two runners in the field of 11 under 10-1.
Englishman set fractions of :22.06, :44.20, and 1:08.13. Geroux never let him out of his sights. Giving Crude Velocity a breather around the three-eighth pole, Geroux pushed forward as they approached the quarter pole.
"Once he took a nice, deep breath, I went attacking Englishman right away before the quarter pole," Geroux said. "(Crude Velocity) just fought him. Englishman was trying, but (Crude Velocity) won the mile today."
Englishman held tough, but Crude Velocity edged clear around the sixteenth pole and moved on to a 3 3/4-length win. Englishman was another 2 3/4 lengths ahead of Stop the Car.
The final time of 1:33.87 fell just 0.61 off the track record and was 0.10 faster than the time of 4-year-old Tour Player, a horse Baffert bred, in the Knicks Go Overnight Stakes earlier on the card.
Crude Velocity, owned by CSLR Racing Partners, has been listed as a probable for the May 16 Preakness Stakes (G1) at Laurel Park by the Maryland Jockey Club, but Baffert didn't want to confirm any targets after the race. Regardless, Geroux said he's confident the colt can get two turns after making his first start beyond 6 1/2 furlongs.
Bred in Kentucky by La Ciega, Crude Velocity is the first graded stakes winner for second-crop sire Beau Liam, who stands at Airdrie Stud near Midway, Ky., for a $7,500 fee in 2026. He is out of the unraced Lemon Drop Kid mare Sweetnsour Kitty.
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