Top Baffert 3-Year-Olds to Hit the Road

[Wandering Eyes]

Trainer Bob Baffert’s top sophomore colts Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}) and Improbable (City Zip) will both be Arkansas-bound for Saturday’s GII Rebel S. at Oaklawn Park, while the highly regarded filly Chasing Yesterday (Tapit) is headed to New Mexico for the Mar. 24 Sunland Park Oaks.

All three of those A-list trainees had been scheduled to make their 2019 debuts in cancelled stakes this past weekend at Santa Anita Park. But Baffert, while on a flight out of California himself late Sunday afternoon, confirmed via text that detours were in order in the aftermath of Santa Anita’s recent closure for racing and training.

In an attempt to identify and rectify problems related to 21 horse deaths since the meet opened Dec. 26, last week Santa Anita halted all racing and training for a thorough inspection of its racing surfaces. With new protocols in place, the main track will open for light training on Monday, and racing is scheduled to resume Mar. 22.

But Baffert wanted his star horses to train sooner than that, so he shipped a contingent some 33 miles south to Los Alamitos Race Course, where he also has stalls. All three of the above-mentioned sophomores had timed workouts there on Sunday morning, as did Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man), who is now targeting the GIII Sunland Derby on Mar. 24.

Baffert indicated via text message that he felt better about sending both Game Winner and Improbable to the Rebel after learning that the race could be split into two divisions if it draws an overflow field.

Trainers who enter two Rebel horses would have their entrants placed in separate divisions, meaning Baffert’s two undefeated 3-year-olds wouldn’t have to square off just yet if the race splits. They would have had Game Winner and Improbable both started in the Mar. 9 GII San Felipe S. at Santa Anita as planned. That race will not be rescheduled.

Oaklawn issued a press release on Sunday that said track officials “were confident the Rebel would be split.”

“We knew the Rebel was always there, but at first we were thinking not to ship,” Baffert said in the Oaklawn release. “We could come back [for the Apr. 13 GI Arkansas Derby]. We hate to ship twice. It changes things a little bit, but right now we’re going through a little crisis here in Southern California. We never dreamed the day would come they would close down Santa Anita, but we’re getting through it. The main thing is that the 3-year-olds, they worked well. They’re coming up there. I think it’s very nice of them to want to split that race. That’s the key thing.”

2-year-old champ Game Winner worked five furlongs in company with 5-year-old GSW Dr. Dorr (Lookin At Lucky) in :59.80 (12/25).

Improbable worked a solo five-eighths in :59.20 (6/25).

Mucho Gusto was clocked in :57.80 (2/25) for five furlongs in company with the 3-year-old filly Flor de la Mar (Tiznow).

Chasing Yesterday, American Pharoah’s half-sister, earned the five-eighths bullet (1/25) for her :57 solo scorcher.

 

View the full article