Imperial Honor, Dargham, Hemingway Win Smartly

This column highlights the performances of 2- and 3-year-old maidens (the latter category only through June) with the potential for graded stakes success based on criteria such as a horse that has made no more than five starts and either sold for more than $500,000 at public auction, has siblings that are graded/group winners, or has dams that are graded/group winners. BloodHorse research shows maiden winners who meet these criteria are more likely to go on to be graded stakes winners. Juveniles Imperial Honor, Dargham and Hemingway are BloodHorse Maiden Watch Hot Prospects after scoring emphatic recent victories. Imperial Honor, Dargham Flaunt Main-Track Speed Imperial Honor and Dargham notched similar front-running debut victories on Labor Day, Sept. 7, with the former doing so at Del Mar and the latter at Saratoga Race Course. Imperial Honor, ridden by Juan Hernandez for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert in Del Mar's eighth race, had the tougher trip of the two after being hounded on the lead by another rival You Want Some through a quarter in :22.23 in a 5 1/2-furlong dash on the main track. But he turned that rival aside with a half-mile in :45.72 on his way to posting a 5 1/4-length victory in 1:04.19. That time earned him a 94 Equibase Speed Figure and an 85 Beyer Speed Figure. The demands of chasing Imperial Honor fatigued You Want Some, who weakened to fifth. Domenici, a debut third Aug. 15 behind Maiden Watch Hot Prospect Inshallah at Del Mar, had the benefit of experience over Imperial Honor but never got close to the winner while settling for a runner-up finish. Imperial Honor was a hot commodity at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale in April, selling for $725,000 after the Bryan Ford Training Stable-consigned colt breezed a furlong in :09 4/5, the co-fastest time of the session. He now races for longtime Baffert owners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman. Stoneview Farm bred the son of Honor A. P. out of the unraced Nyquist mare Seeking Mo Jewel, a half sister to multiple grade 1 winner Deterministic. He is his dam's first foal. Dargham also qualifies for Maiden Watch through his sales price, having been purchased for $500,000 from the Thorostock consignment at the Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale earlier this year. IEE Racing, Winning Move Stable, Poe Racing Stable, Silverwood Stables, and Sanford Robbins now campaign him. Linda Rice trains the Army Mule colt, who zipped 6 furlongs in 1:10.21 under Ricardo Santana Jr. in winning the seventh race Monday at the upstate New York track. He quickly cleared early, and after comfortably setting splits of 22.50 and :46.06, had plenty left to draw away under a hand ride by 2 1/4 lengths over Hullabaloo Ray Ray, who closed well on debut. Dargham posted a 91 Equibase Speed Figure and an 83 Beyer Speed Figure. His pedigree suggests one-turn races will be his specialty. Besides being by Army Mule, winner of the 7-furlong Carter Handicap (G1) in 2018, his winless dam, the Speightstown mare Jeanne's Speight, recorded all of her placings in races from 6 to 7 furlongs. As a broodmare, she's also produced sprinters with her two prior winners. Hemingway Rises With Shift to Turf Hemingway had the softest trip of this week's three Maiden Watch Hot Prospects, running with his ears pricked on the lead with an opening quarter in :23.39 in victory over a mile in the first race Sept. 6 at Kentucky Downs. But he still earned high marks for his dominance in his second start after a debut eighth on dirt at Saratoga. He quickened with a second quarter in :23.21 (for a half-mile in :46.60) as runner-up Epic Roll gave chase, and he opened up on that rival afterward. Showcasing a smooth stride, Hemingway hit the 6-furlong mark in 1:10.98 and hit the wire 8 1/4 lengths in front in a final time of 1:37 under Flavien Prat. The Brad Cox trainee earned a 73 Equibase Speed Figure and a 78 Beyer Speed Figure. The field was strung out behind him. Third-place finisher Best Screenplay lost by 12 1/4 lengths and Enchanting Cat, who ran fourth, was beaten 17 1/4 lengths, though neither entered Sunday's race with compelling form. Hemingway, a son of Constitution owned by WinStar Farm, First Go Racing, and CHC, was a $675,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase last year from the Indian Creek consignment. The Dixiana Farms-bred colt is the second turf winner produced by his dam, the Quality Road mare Havana Dream, who placed in the 2016 TaWee Stakes on grass at Horseshoe Indianapolis.