Noted North America Cup contender Bayfield Beach made his 2021 debut during the Wednesday (April 14) qualifying session at Miami Valley Raceway on the same card as talented 2020 freshman trotter Cuatro De Julio.
Driven by Chris Page for trainer Brian Brown, Bayfield Beach bolted from post 7 to sit third to a :28.1 opening quarter set by Livin For A Dream. That pacesetter continued unchallenged through middle fractions of :57.1 and 1:26 as Page readied his Somebeachsomewhere colt for the stretch drive. Once straightening for the finish, Bayfield Beach barreled by his competition to hit the finish in 1:54.2, and three lengths better than second-place finisher Imma Be.
"Very happy," Brown told Trot Insider after the qualifier, noting that the colt was better behaved than some of his past outings but still has room to improve mentally. He'll return to qualify again in one week's time.
Bayfield Beach, bred by Schooner II Stable, competes for owners Crossover Racing, Country Club Acres Inc., Richard Lombardo and Joe Sbrocco. The colt, who finished as runner-up in the $720,000 Metro Pace final and earned over $300,000 last season, sits at #10 in Trot Magazine’s 2021 Pepsi North America Cup Spring Book.
In the following qualifier, late-season breakout Cuatro De Julio went a blowout mile as he made his 2021 debut. The sophomore son of Trixton caught national attention following a dominant campaign on the Kentucky Fair and Sires Stakes circuit before competing and winning on the Grand Circuit during the stakes meeting at The Red Mile.
On Wednesday, regular pilot Al Eferstein rocketed Cuatro De Julio off the gate and travelled a clip of :28.2, :56.4 and 1:25.1 before stopping the clock in 1:54.1. He finished 23 lengths in front of the next-closest finishers A Fancy Face and Street Gossip. World champion Guardian Angel As also went his first mile of 2021 in the qualifier, with the seven-year-old finishing fourth with a time of 1:59.1.
Towards the end of the card, North America Cup-eligible Captains Place went a 1:53.3 mile when competing against older competition. The son of Captaintreacherous, driven by Tyler Smith for trainer Todd Luther, sat the pocket to five-year-old mare Giggles In Dream through fractions of :28.2, :56.4 and 1:25.3 before settling for second in a :27.4 spring to the beam. Bllack Hole, who won a preliminary of the Graduate Series last year at The Meadowlands, finished third.