Exciting 2-year-old Englishman's Churchill debut is fastest of day
Englishman led all performers with a 132 Horse Racing Nation speed figure at Churchill Downs in Friday's fifth race, a maiden special weight at seven furlongs on the dirt. The 2-year-old Maxfield colt, trained by Cherie DeVaux, led at every call and drew off to win his debut by 7 1/4 lengths. At 2-1, he was the second betting choice in the field of 10.
Special Club earned a 123 HRN speed figure, the second fastest of the day, for his victory in the Los Alamitos opener Friday, a $50,000 starter allowance going 6 1/2 furlongs on the dirt. the 4-year-old Clubhouse Ride gelding, trained by Craig Lewis, was sent off at 8-1. He tracked just off the pace, made his run in upper stretch, and battled to the wire to win by a head. The win was his first of the year and his second in 15 career starts.
Both Sides completed the top three with a 119 HRN speed figure in a $12,500 claiming race going 6 1/2 furlongs on the dirt at Gulfstream Park. The 5-year-old Bucchero mare, trained by David Fawkes, went off the 3-1 second choice in the six-horse field. She let at every call, drawing off to win by 5 1/2 lengths. The win was her second this year and her sixth in 25 career starts.
Friday's top 10 speed figures
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 132 | Englishman | Maxfield | 2C | CD 5 | 7f dirt |
| 123 | Special Club | Clubhouse Ride | 4G | LRC 1 | 6 1/2f dirt |
| 119 | Both Sides | Bucchero | 5M | GP 6 | 6 1/2f dirt |
| 116 | Mayor of Midnight | Lope de Vega | 3G | BAQ 8 | 1 3/8 turf |
| 115 | Grayson's Girl | Gift Box | 3F | LRL 7 | 6f dirt |
| 114 | Brother Conway | Lord Nelson | 6G | LRL 2 | 6f dirt |
| 113 | Noticeable | Curlin | 3F | GP 1 | 1 mile dirt |
| 112 | Retail Therapist | Tourist | 6M | WO 2 | 1 mile turf |
| 112 | Forward Move | Army Mule | 5G | LRL 4 | 6f dirt |
| 112 | Salming | Bernardini | 4G | LRL 5 | 7f dirt |
Fastest maiden winners
Englishman's HRN speed figure of 132, the highest of any horse on Friday, marks him as a horse to watch since he posted that number in his maiden debut at Churchill Downs. The 2-year-old colt by Maxfield is out of the winning Speightstown mare In It for the Gold, a daughter of the stakes-winning and Grade 1-placed Value Plus mare All Due Respect. His top-earning sibling to date, the Into Mischief mare Fee, earned $153,764 in a four-win career.
Noticeable impressed with a 113 HRN speed figure in a one-mile dirt maiden special weight at Gulfstream Park. The 3-year-old filly by Curlin, starting for the second time, stalked the pace and fought to get up by a head, winning at 3-1 odds for trainer Todd Pletcher. She is out of the Street Sense mare Tiger Moth, a two-time Grade 3 winner and earner of $703,468 during her career. Her other sibling to start, the Justify gelding Harbour Bridge, has won twice and earned $122,291 so far.
Salming graduated in a seven-furlong maiden special weight dirt sprint at Laurel Park on Friday, earning a 112 HRN speed figure. The 4-year-old Bernardini gelding, trained by Brittany Russell, won at fifth asking, overcoming traffic with a quarter of a mile to go to finish strong an cross the wire 5 3/4 lengths clear. He is the first starter out of the winning More Than Ready mare Ready to Tango, who is herself a daughter of the multiple Grade 3-placed Tapit mare Tap Tap Tapping.
Friday's top maiden winners
| HRN | Horse | Sire | Age | Race | Distance | Winning Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 132 | Englishman | Maxfield | 2C | CD 5 | 7f dirt | 7 1/4 |
| 113 | Noticeable | Curlin | 3F | GP 1 | 1 mile dirt | 1/10 |
| 112 | Salming | Bernardini | 4G | LRL 5 | 7f dirt | 5 3/4 |
| 111 | Angel Bella | Union Rags | 3F | CD 1 | 1 mile dirt | 2 1/4 |
| 106 | Screen Test | Not This Time | 2F | LRL 6 | 1 mile turf | 3 1/2 |
| 106 | Battle Drum | Siyouni | 3R | BAQ 2 | 1 1/16 turf | 1/2 |
| 103 | Mozambique | Goldencents | 3G | BAQ 4 | 6 1/2f dirt | 1/4 |
| 101 | Tricky Kitty | Kitten's Joy | 3F | CD 7 | 1 1/16 turf | 1 3/4 |
| 96 | Calling the Shots | Audible | 3F | GP 5 | 1 mile dirt | 5 1/4 |
| 95 | St. Brigid's Cross | Leinster | 2F | BAQ 1 | 6 1/2f dirt | 2 1/2 |
About HRN speed figures
HRN speed figures are AI-generated using HRN's proprietary machine-learning algorithms. Although they involve less human input than other speed figures, we see that as a plus as human adjustments often knock down surprisingly good performances to match expectations. HRN speed figures were launched in December 2024, and our expectation is also that the AI-generated speed figures will continuously get better over time.
The HRN speed figure scale goes from 1 to 160. Part of the reason for this higher scale is this helps us avoid assigning a speed figure of zero. For some products, in weaker races, half the field or more may get a speed figure of zero, which leads to inaccuracy and defeats the purpose of speed figures.
Because the HRN speed figures are based on machine learning, as we improve our models we can compute the numbers historically.
Using the top last-race speed figure as a benchmark, here are stats from 2021 to 2024 for HRN and other speed-figure providers:
Top HRN figure 26.2% winners
Top Beyer figure 28.1% winners
Top TimeformUS figure 28.4% winners
Although all HRN speed figures are published on individual horse profile pages on a weekly basis, the daily reports are focused on the top and medium-tier tracks, which represent the majority of top speed figures.