Beyond Brilliant Adds Charles Whittingham to Resume
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Beyond Brilliant leads the field of the Charles Whittingham at Santa Anita Park
CRK Stables' Beyond Brilliant proved to be just that among a field of six other 4-year-olds and up in the $226,000 Charles Whittingham Stakes (G2T) April 30 at Santa Anita Park.
The 4-year-old Twirling Candy colt was too much for the other competitors as he took command in the 1 1/4-mile turf test under Victor Espinoza shortly after the leaving post 7. He maintained the lead from that point on, turning in fractions of :23.31 and :47.16 through the first half-mile.
With Masteroffoxhounds and Gold Phoenix giving chase around the far turn, favored Beyond Brilliant just kept an even stride and maintained an advantage as six furlongs went in 1:11.16. Coming into the stretch Masteroffoxhounds and Gold Phoenix continued to drive at the leader, but eventually Beyond Brilliant put a little more distance between himself and his rivals.
With a 1 1/4-length margin of victory, Beyond Brilliant stopped the clock in 1:58.72 on the firm turf course with Masteroffoxhounds and Gold Phoenix maintaining second and third, respectively.
"It was one of those things that I had a good post outside and I thought that was great for this horse because he can get a little keen," Espinoza said. "When he gets aggressive, it's tough to get him back, you know, to relax. But today, he did what I wanted."
Trained by John Shirreffs, Beyond Brilliant came into Saturday's race off a fourth-place finish in his season debut, the March 5 Frank E. Kilroe Mile (G1T) over the same course, after leading for most of the way.
Last year Beyond Brilliant made his graded stakes debut in the Oct. 31 Twilight Derby (G2T), finishing third. He returned a month later to win the Hollywood Derby (G1T) at Del Mar. Both of those races were at 1 1/8 miles. He completed the year with a runner-up finish in the Santa Anita Mathis Mile (G2T), a half-length behind Law Professor after battling that opponent throughout.
"He broke a little wide and he crossed over the dirt a little wide but once he got the lead and had a length, a length and a half on them, he just relaxed," Shirreffs said of the Whittingham. "Yes, we thought he could get the distance. He ran really well going a mile and one eighth down at Del Mar, so it didn't seem like a mile and a quarter was asking too much. But, it's always a case of what the pace is."
Bred by Fred W. Hertrich lll, John Fielding, and Robert Tribbett, Beyond Brilliant is out of the First Defence mare Summer on the Lawn, who has two other winners from three foals to race. The mare also has an unraced 2-year-old by Mastery , a yearling filly by Mitole , and a 2022 filly by More Than Ready .