Bob Baffert thought enough of Madaket Road as a 2-year-old that he entered him in a stakes race in his career debut. The colt finished second in the 6-furlong Bob Hope Stakes (G3) before breaking his maiden next time out. Seven races later, that’s still his only win.
But it’s not as if he lacks talent. He was second in the Woody Stephens Stakes (G1), the Rebel Stakes (G2) and Pat Day Mile (G2), and fourth in the Florida Derby (G1). He has sharp early speed and can compete with the big boys. He just can’t beat them.
Which is why he looks overmatched in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1). He’s filling in for Goal Oriented, Baffert’s original entry, who retired recently. The Hall of Famer has won the Pegasus three times, with Arrogate (2017), Mucho Gusto (2020), and National Treasure (2024), but it seems highly unlikely he will get a fourth trophy on Jan. 24.
Madaket Road is 0-for-2 going two turns, and his win was by just a half-length going six furlongs. The Pegasus is 1 1/8 miles, the same distance as the Florida Derby, in which Madaket Road set the pace before losing by 5½ lengths to Tappan Street, one of the favorites in the Pegasus.
Questioning Baffert, perhaps the best dirt trainer of all time, is usually unwise, but this is a major reach.
Can’t see him crossing the finish line first, but use underneath.
Notes: Madaket Road worked 5 furlongs, handily, in 58.20 seconds on Jan. 10 at Santa Anita … He’s earned $580,000, $70,000 less than what he cost at a Saratoga yearling sale … His maternal grandsire, Smoke Glacken, was the champion sprinter of 1997. A gray/roan with sharp early speed, he compiled a 10-for-14 career record.
Ed McNamara is an award-winning racing writer who has covered the sport since 1981 for The Bergen (N.J.) Record, Newsday, ESPN, Thorocap, and USRacing. He is the author of Cajun Racing: From the Bush Tracks to the Triple Crown and Racing Around the World, and a contributor to The Most Glorious Crown and The Racetracks of America. He has also written for racing publications in France and Italy.
