World Beater Impressive in the Audubon

Edited from the BloodHorse (link)

World Beater notched his first career stakes victory in the $273,500 Audubon Stakes on Saturday at Churchill Downs.

The victory was the second in a row for the 3-year-old son of Oscar Performance, who a start earlier had broken his maiden in a 1 1/8-mile maiden race at Churchill Downs on May 2. His record now stands at 2-1-1 in six starts with earnings of $263,914.

Well spotted in midpack early with Jaime Torres aboard, World Beater saved ground into the first turn as the leader set splits in the 1 1/8-mile turf race of :23.42, :47.71, and 1:11.93. Torres awaited traffic to clear on the second turn before launching a two-wide, second-turn bid. From there, World Beater reeled in his rivals one by one to win in the closing strides by a neck.

“He was impressive stretching out more in distance,” Torres said of the winner.

The Riley Mott-trained winner posted a stakes-record time of 1:47.39.

Megalodon Seizes Command in a Woodbine Allowance

Megalodon continues to make waves in the 3-year-old division with a decisive allowance win at Woodbine.

The son of Medaglia d’Oro started the year with a runner-up finish in the Rushaway Stakes at Turfway in March and a dominant Turfway maiden win in February. Bet down to 6-5 favoritism, Megalodon delivered with a confident performance.

Saving ground up the rail early, he steadily improved position down the backstretch before swinging wide past the quarter pole. He struck the front turning for home and drew off to win by 2 lengths.