Straight Man to Dunhill

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Grade II winner Straight Man, who registered a 109 Beyer Speed Figure in his first start, has been retired from racing and will enter stud at Dunhill Stud near Reddick, Fla., for a fee of $5,000.

A son of Saint Ballado, Straight Man won this year's Winnercomm Handicap (gr. II) at Churchill Downs in near track-record time of 1:21.53 for seven furlongs. The time missed the track mark by less than two-fifths of a second.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Straight Man won four other races. After registering that 109 Beyer in a 1:08.82 win at six furlongs at Santa Anita, he came back in his next start to win in 1:42.33 for 1 1/16 miles, registering a 106 Beyer. Straight Man later scored allowance wins in 1:09.47 and 1:21.78.

"I never had a horse do what he did," Baffert said. "This horse is a monster. (Jockey) Gary Stevens came back after his first start, and said he did it like it was nothing."

Against stakes competition, Straight Man finished ahead of Cat Thief while missing Love That Red by a neck in a runner-up effort in the Malibu Stakes (gr. I) at Santa Anita, and ran third in the Derby Trial Stakes (gr. III) at Churchill Downs. Straight Man, who was produced from the Cornish Prince mare Brilliant Melody, started 15 times and earned $333,304.

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