Juvenile Champion Citizen Bull Back to Winning Ways in Shared Belief

[Wandering Eyes]

After a fruitless last three appearances against elite company, juvenile champion Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) returned to his winning ways after major class relief in the Shared Belief Stakes.

Off the board in the GI Woody Stephens, GI Kentucky Derby, and GI Santa Anita Derby in his last three starts, it had been a tough spring for the Bob Baffert trainee after a sensational juvenile season which saw him win two Grade I races, including the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, and take home top prize as the best 2-year-old colt of 2024. Gone since the Woody Stephens June 7, the 'TDN Rising Star' returned here in a scratched down field of three and was made the definitive 2-5 favorite by the betting public.

Taking command right from the jump, Citizen Bull put up :22.39 and a half in :45.88 with no pressure from Smooth Cruisein (Girvin) or Gaming (Game Winner). Well in command coming off the far turn, he needed little encouragement to pull away from his rivals and ultimately won by 5 1/2 lengths.

“He's a good horse,” said winning rider Juan Hernandez. “He broke well out of the gate. He gave me speed at the three-quarter pole and that was it. When he recovers well from this race, I think he can go anywhere.”

“He was back to a distance he really loves,” said Baffert from the winner's enclosure. “The Breeders' Cup Mile is probably where we will be pointing. We were trying to get him back to form after what he went through. I told Juan [Hernandez] 'Come back with bugs on your teeth.' It was good to see him put on a show today. You saw the champion Citizen Bull today.”

The victor is his dam's first winning offspring from three to the races. No Joke, herself a half-sister to MGISW Moonshine Memories (Malibu Moon) and SW & GSP Indian Evening (Indian Charlie), has a yearling colt by Mandaloun and a 2025 colt by Life Is Good to her credit. Another of the dam's half-sisters is the mother of MGSW Souper Hoity Toity (Uncle Mo). This is the extended female family of MGISW Tiz the Law (Constitution) and the immediate one of Horse of the Year Favorite Trick. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

 

He's GONE.

Citizen Bull & @JJHernandezS19 with an easy victory in the Shared Belief Stakes. pic.twitter.com/oGzadThz2V

— Del Mar Racetrack (@DelMarRacing) August 31, 2025

SHARED BELIEF S., $115,000, Del Mar, 8-31, 3yo, 1m, 1:35.12, ft.
1–CITIZEN BULL, 124, c, 3, by Into Mischief
                1st Dam: No Joke, by Distorted Humor
                2nd Dam: Unenchantedevening, by Unbridled's Song
                3rd Dam: Evil Elaine, by Medieval Man
($675,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP). 'TDN Rising Star'. O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Bashor, Dianne, Determined Stables, Masterson, Robert E., Ryan, Tom J., Waves Edge Capital LLC and Donovan, Catherine; B-Robert & Lawana Low (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Juan J. Hernandez. $75,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2-year-old colt, MGISW, 9-5-0-1, $1,556,000.
2–Smooth Cruisein, 120, c, 3, Girvin–Smooth Cookie, by In Summation. ($41,000 Ylg '23 OBSOCT; $45,000 RNA 2yo '24 OBSMAR). O-Matson Racing, Brown, Sandra L., Naify, Elise and Naify, Marsha; B-J D Farms (FL); T-Karen Headley. $25,000.
3–Gaming, 124, c, 3, Game Winner–So Stylish, by Johannesburg. ($40,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP; $250,000 2yo '24 OBSMAR). O-Pegram, Michael E., Watson, Karl and Weitman, Paul; B-Mt. Brilliant Farm & Ranch, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $15,000.
Margins: 5HF, 9, NO. Odds: 0.40, 9.50, 1.40.
Scratched: Brother Brother, Privman.

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