Baffert to Ship 3-Year-Old Stars to Los Al

[Wandering Eyes]

Unable to work his horses at Santa Anita, where the track has been closed indefinitely due to safety concerns, Bob Baffert will ship several prominent horses to Los Alamitos Friday morning. Among them will be GI Kentucky Derby hopefuls Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}), Improbable (City Zip) and Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man).

He said he plans to work all three Sunday and those works will give him a better idea of what direction he should take with each as he makes out their pre-Derby schedules.

Game Winner and Improbable were both scheduled to run this Saturday in the GII San Felipe S. at Santa Anita, but the Saturday card has been canceled and Santa Anita management has given no indication when it expects the track to re-open. For Baffert and others with top 3-year-olds stabled at Santa Anita, that has made the decision-making process extra difficult. Should the track re-open and hold the San Felipe on Sept. 16 that would remain a viable option. But at this point no one knows if that is going to happen.

“As far as the San Felipe goes, I’m just waiting to hear more information,” he said.

Baffert has been planning on running Mucho Gusto in the GII Rebel S. next Saturday at Oaklawn.

“I’m trying to adapt,” Baffert said. “There is so much confusion going on.”

He said the options that top his list for Improbable and Game Winner are the Rebel and the GIII Sunland Derby Mar. 24.

The Rebel seems like an obvious spot for the Baffert horses to land. Not only have there been no problems with the track at Oaklawn, but he has won the race a record six times and took the Arkansas route to the Kentucky Derby with 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile).

Another Baffert horse that is headed to Los Alamitos is McKinzie (Street Sense), who was expected to be favored in the GI Santa Anita H., another race that has been postponed indefinitely.

“I’m sending a lot of my top horses to Los Alamitos,” Baffert said. “I’m sending all the ones that I need to work right now.”

Unlike some other Southern California based trainers, Baffert has the luxury of going back and forth between Santa Anita and Los Alamitos because he has stalls at both tracks.

 

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