LEXINGTON, Ky. — Little analysis is required to determine the top U.S.-based three-year-old turf horse as Analyze It rolled to another dominating win Friday in the $150,000 Transylvania (G3) on opening day of the Keeneland spring meet.
Before a crowd of 18,374 on an increasingly chilly and windy afternoon under cloudy skies, Analyze It handled yielding ground for the first time and easily overcame the generally disadvantageous post 11 to win by 5 1/4 lengths, giving jockey Jose Ortiz his third winner on the card.
Having shown speed to win his first two starts — a maiden at Belmont Park and the Cecil B. DeMille (G3) at Del Mar by a combined margin of 10 1/2 lengths last fall — a change of tactics was required by Analyze It due to the outside draw. Advancing from fourth to third down the backside as Beer Pressure sprinted out to a long lead through splits of :24.30, :48.83, and 1:15.21, Analyze It bid alongside Dragon Drew at the quarter pole, got past that rival soon after, and drew off impressively.
Owned by William H. Lawrence and trained by Chad Brown, Analyze It covered 1 1/16 miles in 1:45.60. He paid $3.60 as the 4-5 favorite in the field of 11. Captivating Moon edged Admiralty Pier in the final jump to get the place by a nose, with Dragon Drew a half-length behind in fourth. Maraud, Tigers Rule, Funny Duck, Golden Dragon, King Valero, Tap Daddy, and Beer Pressure completed the order of finish.
When asked about the long term goals for his star colt, Brown mentioned the Belmont Derby (G1) in July while not completely dismissing something more ambitious, such as Royal Ascot.
“I think this horse will love a mile and a quarter,” Brown said of the Belmont Derby distance, “but with a great horse like this all options are on the table.”
Bred in Kentucky by P. Headley Bell, Nancy Bell, and NATO, Analyze It was a $130,000 Keeneland September yearling. He’s from the first crop of multiple Grade 1 winner Point of Entry and is out of Sweet Assay, by Consolidator. He’s from the family of multiple Grade 1 winner Came Home. Analyze It has now bankrolled $195,000.
