Santa Anita runs major stakes on the main track, it’s usually all about Bob Baffert. On Sunday, it will be much more of the same when the Great Race Place begins its rain-delayed 91st winter meet.
Three of the card’s six stakes are on dirt, and Baffert has entered 10 horses, including five in the 7-furlong, $300,000 Malibu Stakes (G1) for 3-year-olds. He also will run two in the 1 1/16-mile, $200,000 Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes (G2) and three in the 7-furlong, $300,000 La Brea Stakes (G1) for 3-year-old fillies.
As always, the Malibu Stakes is the marquee event on opening day, which was pushed back two days because of heavy rain in the forecast. Post time for the Malibu Stakes is 6:30 p.m. ET.
“It’s a good Malibu,” Baffert said. “It’s a strong field even though there’s no Grade 1 winner in there. But there will be a Grade I winner after the race is over. I just hope it’s one of mine.”
Chances are very good that Baffert will be standing in the winner’s circle accepting his seventh Malibu trophy. He’s got almost half the field of 11, topped by 3-1 favorite Barnes. The $3.2 million yearling is 2-for-3 at the demanding distance of 7 furlongs, including an 8¼-length runaway last time out in the Perryville Stakes (G3) at Keeneland.
Last winter there was serious buzz about the expensive son of Into Mischief for the Kentucky Derby (G1). The onetime future book favorite missed the Triple Crown after finishing a distant fifth in the 1 1/8-mile Santa Anita Derby (G1). He’s run in three sprints since then, because Baffert concluded he’s “definitely a one-turn horse.”
His stablemates Goal Oriented (5-1) and Madaket Road (5-1) look like the main threats. Goal Oriented turns back in distance and gets class relief after four consecutive losses against standouts Journalism (twice), Baeza and Nysos. Madaket Road is 1-for-8 lifetime but ran second in four stakes, including the Pat Day Mile (G2) and the Woody Stephens (G1).
The picks: 1 Barnes 2 Goal Oriented 3 Madaket Road
1 Modus Bestia (Edwin Maldonado, Richard Baltas), 15-1
2 Spenard (Tyler Baze, Dan McFarlane), 30-1
3 Madaket Road (Irad Ortiz, Jr., Bob Baffert), 5-1
4 Speedy Wilson (Armando Ayuso, Phil D’Amato), 15-1
5 Midland Money (Juan Hernandez, Bob Baffert), 7-2
6 Berlin Wall (Tiago Pereira, Steve Knapp), 20-1
7 Smooth Cruisein (Kyle Frey, Karen Headley), 30-1
8 Cornucopian (Flavien Prat, Bob Baffert), 7/2
9 Barnes (Jose Ortiz, Bob Baffert), 3-1
10 Goal Oriented (Joel Rosario, Bob Baffert), 5-1
Baffert also has an excellent chance to run 1-2 with 3-5 favorite Nysos and 2-1 second choice Nevada Beach in the race honoring the Hall of Fame rider, the Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes.
Nysos, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1), is a neck away from being 7-for-7, and that loss came in a blanket finish behind two-time Grade 1 winner Mindframe in the Churchill Downs Stakes (G1) on Derby Day. Nysos is 3-for-3 at Santa Anita, where Nevada Beach is 2-for-3, winning over 1 1/8 and 1 1/16 miles.
The picks: 1 Nysos 2 Nevada Beach 3 British Isles
1 Nysos (Flavien Prat, Bob Baffert) 3-5
2 Vodka Vodka (Kent Desormeaux, Aggie Ordonez), 15-1
3 Nevada Beach (Juan Hernandez, Bob Baffert), 2-1
4 Cornishman (R Gonzalez, Dan McFarlane), 30-1
5 British Isles (D A Herrera, Richard Baltas), 30-1
6 Indispensable (Joel Rosario, John Sadler), 8-1
7 Bartholdy (Tyler Baze, Steve Knapp), 12-1
For a change, Baffert doesn’t have the morning-line favorite in the La Brea Stakes. That would be trainer Mark Glatt’s speedy Formula Rossa (3-1), the 2-for-3 daughter of hot sire Vekoma. Her defeat came against five-time stakes winner Sweet Azteca.
Five G (7-2) hasn’t raced since March for George Weaver, but she’s quick and won stakes at a one-turn mile and 1 1/16 miles. The best of Baffert’s trio could be Brilliantly (6-1), whose recent workouts live up to her name. She might get the early lead and not be caught.
The picks: 1 Formula Rossa 2 Five G 3 Brilliantly
1 Simply Joking (Kazushi Kimura, Michale McCarthy), 20-1
2 So There She Was (Antonio Fresu, Doug O'Neill), 15-1
3 Five G (Irad Ortiz, Jr., Geroge Weaver), 7-2
4 Artisma (Edwin Maldonado, Richard Baltas), 15/1
5 Usha (Juan Hernandez, Bob Baffert), 9-2
6 Brilliantly (Flavien Prat, Bob Baffert), 6-1
7 Schilflied (Tyler Baze, Patrick Gallagher), 50-1
8 Her Laugh (Jose Ortiz, Riley Mott), 6-1
9 Formula Rossa (Mike Smith, Mark Glatt), 3-1
10 Magnificat (Mirco Demuro, Richard Mandella), 20-1
11 Silent Law (Joel Rosario, Bob Baffert), 10-1
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.
