Well, what do you know? Six-time Kentucky Derby (G1) winning trainer Bob Baffert has himself a second contender in the Run for the Roses.
A week before the Derby, Baffert’s Litmus Test moved into the field after Chip Honcho was declared out of contention by trainer Steve Asmussen on Saturday morning before the post-position draw.
Litmus Test joins stablemate Potente in the field and gives Baffert a pair of contenders as he seeks a record-setting seventh Derby victory.
Just because he’s the lowest points qualifier in the field with 34 points (he won the Los Alamitos Futurity and ran third in the Rebel Stakes) doesn’t mean he can’t compete at this level.
If nothing else, Litmus Test is ready to go. The son of Derby winner Nyquist worked 5 furlongs in 59.00 seconds at Churchill Downs on Thursday (April 23). His training is being overseen by Dan Ward, Baffert’s newly appointed assistant for his Midwest operation. Martin Garcia was aboard for the work and will be aboard for the Derby.
The bay colt won the Los Alamitos Futurity to close out his 2-year-old season with a 2-for-5 mark, but he ran fourth, third, and fourth in three Grade 1 races, the Del Mar Futurity, the Breeders’ Futurity and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). Two of those defeats came against 2-year-old champion Ted Noffey, currently sidelined with an injury.
He opened his 3-year-old campaign with a third in the Rebel Stakes (G3) behind Class President and Silent Tactic, then finished a non-threatening seventh in the Arkansas Derby. But he has enough points to sneak into the field. He was purchased for $875,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York Saratoga Select Yearling Sale (2024).
Look for him to stay close to the leaders and hope for a perfect ride around the far turn and into the stretch to have any chance of a solid finish.
His top Equibase speed figure is 105 from the BC Juvenile, a race in which he ran a steady fourth all the way around and less than two lengths behind the winner, Ted Noffey.
Martin Garcia has ridden for Baffert for years; he won the 2010 Preakness Stakes (G1) aboard Lookin At Lucky and the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with Citizen Bull, but he’s 0-for-5 in the Derby – 0-for-4 with Baffert.
This would be a huge upset, even if this colt is trained by Baffert.
Last one in doesn’t mean a throw out, as we’ve learned with Rich Strike in 2022 (winning at 80-1 after getting into the field the day before the race). He’s run against some top horses and is 7-2-0-2. That said, no chance.
- Martin Garcia rides in his sixth Derby; he’s 5-0-0-1; his best finish was third aboard Baffert-trained Dortmund in 2015.
- Baffert’s six Derby winners: Silver Charm (1997), Real Quiet (1998), War Emblem (2002), American Pharoah (2015), Justify (2018), Authentic (2020).
The writing team at US Racing is comprised of both full-time and part-time contributors with expertise in various aspects of the Sport of Kings.
