The Bob Baffert-trained colt’s pedigree is top class. His dam, Achieving, is a sibling to the Baffert-trained Grade 1 winner Streaming. The third dam of Cezanne is Better Than Honour, who produced 2007 champion 3-year-old filly Rags to Riches, Belmont winner Jazil, and Grade 2 winner Casino Drive.

Cezanne won the 6½-furlong, $51,000 maiden by 2¼ lengths, though he broke slowly on the rail. He soon settled in midfield under Prat, moving between rivals Brazen and Mystery Man to go second at the half-mile pole.

Cezanne soon pulled away under mild urging from his rider Prat for a comfortable win for the colt bred in Kentucky by Hill ‘n’ Dale Equine Holdings and Vinnie Viola’s St. Elias Stables.

The Curling colt’s auction price was the highest for a 2-year-old since The Green Monkey went for $16 million in 2006. Cezanne was purchased at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream selected 2-year-olds in training.

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Both horses, the undefeated Charlatan and his stablemate Gamine, are reported to have tested positive for lidocaine, a numbing agent, at Oaklawn Park, Arkansas.

The anesthetic is considered a Class 2 drug by the Association of Racing Commissioners International. Using the substance carries a penalty of a suspension ranging from 15 to 60 days, coupled with a fine of between $500 and $1,000. It could also lead to Charlatan being disqualified and his owners having to forfeit the $300,000 won in the recent Arkansas Derby.

Charlatan, one of the top contenders for three-year-old honours in the USA this year, was victorious in the Arkansas Derby on 2^nd May last, and is ranked fourth on the qualifying points list for the Kentucky Derby on 5^th September.

Sixty-seven year-old Arizona native Baffert has exercised his right to have a second test run on the samples, with results expected in about a week’s time.

Confirmation of a positive test, however, could mean Charlatan will miss the first leg of the 2020 American Triple Crown, The Belmont Stakes in New York, on 20^th June.

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