Each week in this space, the top Beyer performances by maiden winners will be featured and analyzed. Click here for a complete archive. Hall of Fame Jan. 20, 5th race Fair Grounds, MdSpWt60k  Beyer: 94  1 1/16 miles 1:44.27 – 1st by 10 1/4 lengths  ch.c.3, Gun Runner – Flag Day, by Giant’s Causeway  Noteworthy siblings: None  Auctions: Saratoga yearling sale 2022 – $1.4 million  Owner: Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Gandarvi  Trainer: Steve Asmussen  Breeder: Earle Mack LLC  The colt’s one-turn mile debut in November at Churchill Downs was solid if far from spectacular, but this second start, a two-turn maiden, was pretty spectacular for a young, inexperienced horse. Hall of Fame broke decently and was urged into the action by jockey Joel Rosario, coming up the rail to press pacesetting Funnyflame, who might not be exceptional, but who had finished second in two Fair Grounds maiden routes, the most recent with a 76 Beyer Speed Figure. Funnyflame was kept a path off the inside rail, and Rosario, midway down the backstretch, edged Hall of Fame into the space between the leader and the rail and asked his mount to maintain a tricky position into the turn. Hall of Fame initially seemed skeptical and found himself in tight quarters, steadied ever so slightly at the seven-sixteenths marker, but by the five-sixteenths pole, he had gotten onto even terms. All this was happening at a very fast clip, and the half-mile split of 46.76 would have cooked most maidens. It did Funnyflame, who would end up losing by about 20 lengths, but Hall of Fame just kept trucking. Yes, he was ridden to the wire, but the trainer says this is a colt who needs to be encouraged, and it did not appear Hall of Fame was tiring more than would be expected in a fast-paced dirt race. He crossed the finish with his ears pricked and despite the fact Rosario had stopped riding past the sixteenth pole, Hall of Fame maintained his wide advantage on the gallop-out. Hall of Fame, the first foal from an unraced dam, has a sweet, efficient action, and obviously turned heads at the Saratoga yearling sale. Interestingly, he began working last May 21, and other than a gap between Aug. 30 and Sept. 30, breezed steadily into his debut. Could actually be a Derby horse.  Maymun  Jan. 20, 1st race Santa Anita, MdSpWt65k  Beyer: 93  6 1/2 furlongs 1:15.59 – 1st by 7 1/2 lengths  b.c.3, Frosted – Handwoven, by Indian Charlie  Noteworthy siblings: None  Auctions: Keeneland September yearling 2022 – $50,000; OBS spring 2-year-old 2023 – $900,000  Owner: Zedan Racing Stables  Trainer: Bob Baffert  Breeder: Vision Racing & Sales  Trainer Bob Baffert unleashes flashy debut winners on a regular basis, but even by Baffert standards, this colt looked good. How far he might go and how he’ll respond to being in a real race rather than a paid workout are questions still to be answered, but under the circumstances in his first start he showed off star potential. Maymun was a pinhook home run, selling for $850,000 more after breezing a furlong in 9.3 seconds at a 2-year-old sale than he had as a yearling. Owner Amr Zedan buys 2-year-olds and does not seem to care a whit about pedigree: Frosted in 2023 had the very fast Japanese stakes-winning sprinter Jasper Krone and a good 3-year-old sprinter-miler in Frosted Departure, but he has not exactly been a hit at stud. Frosted, named in part because of his light gray color, passed on his coat to just the very end of Maymun’s tail, silver streaks on an otherwise bay. The dam finished third in her lone start. Only three of her previous six foals raced, and none of them did much of anything. Maymun obviously is an outlier. He broke inward a couple paths leaving from post 2, and after being straightened out, quickly overtook a pace rival and got to the front, never to be threatened. The rider drew his crop turning for home but never used it, throwing the reins at Maymun, who was going faster at the finish than he had been in upper stretch. Baffert generally is not big on gallop-outs, but Maymun not only went out well, he didn’t want to pull up. Top prospect.  Champlin  Jan. 15, 7th race Fair Grounds, MdSpWt52k  Beyer: 95  6 furlongs 1:09.70 – 1st by 5 lengths  gr.g.4, Ransom the Moon – Now I Know, by Pure Prize  Noteworthy siblings: None  Auctions: Keeneland November breeding 2020 – $37,000; Keeneland September yearling 2021 – $58,000  Owner: Murray House and Sherilynn House  Trainer: Greg Foley  Breeder: Calumet Farm  Quite the display of speed from this newly turned 4-year-old making his first start – but he got all the way up to a flashy 95 Beyer because his performance featured more than mere speed. Crossing and clearing from the outside post in a six-runner field, Champlin was in hand through a brisk opening quarter-mile in 22.18 seconds. He went around the turn in hand, his head cocked a bit to the right, and then did something rarely seen in dirt races, going his fifth furlong after turning home just about as fast as his preceding two furlongs – in 11.87. That put this race to bed, but after going fastest early, Champlin also easily was fastest late, following the 11.87 with a 12.15-second final eighth-mile. The jockey rode the gelding a bit, but never used his crop, and Champlin’s gallop-out also was strong. All this from a barn that doesn’t frequently win with first-time starters. Champlin is the third foal from Now I Know, who won the Grade 3 Delta Princess in 2011. Champlin worked five times in May and June of 2022 but didn’t show up on the work tab again until December 2022, breezing once before being sidelined again. Back working in October, Champlin this time was able to sustain his training into his debut, and while this is not the prettiest-moving horse, his talent obviously runs deep.