Bob Baffert | Horse Racing Free Tips

Champion Gamine Cruises To Easy Victory In Seasonal Debut In Las Flores

The champ is back. Idle since winning the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Keeneland on Nov. 7, Bob Baffert-trained Gamine, in what amounted to a paid workout, broke alertly from her rail post and made every pole a winning one in taking Sunday's Grade 3, $100,000 Las Flores Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. With regular rider John Velazquez up, she got six furlongs while well within herself in 1:09.52 and drawing off by five lengths.

“She came back so good,” said Velazquez, who rode Gamine in her final four starts of 2020. “She felt as good as last year. Bob thinks she's not ready yet, that's what he told me. She does everything so effortlessly, it's just everything she does, makes my job a lot easier. I just steer where I want to go and that's it. That's the biggest point of her strength, I believe.”

With no place or show wagering, Gamine, who has now finished first across the wire in six of her seven career starts by a combined 38 ¼ lengths, was off at 1-20 and paid $2.10 to win, with no place and show wagering.

“I told Johnny before, 'With the one hole, make sure you don't let her make the gap (as the horses come out of the seven furlong chute onto the main track oval),” said Baffert. “Ride her like she's 10-1.' I'm happy for my owners and everybody involved. They are excited, it's Easter Sunday, so it's a big win…

“They (the fans) saw one of the greatest fillies I've ever trained going one turn. Hopefully, we'll stretch her out.”

Purchased for $1.8 million out of the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in Training Sale, Gamine, a 4-year-old filly by Into Mischief out of the Kafwain mare Peggy Jane, is owned by Michael Lund Petersen. With the Las Flores purse of $60,000, she increased her earnings to $893,000. With four graded stakes wins, three of them Grade I's, her official resume now reads five wins from seven starts, as she was disqualified from purse money earned in a first condition allowance win at Oaklawn Park on May 2, 2020.

Baffert's Qahira, who sat a joint second, about one length off the winner with Hang a Star and Biddy Duke leaving the half mile pole, proved second best under Flavien Prat as she finished 2 ¾ lengths in front of Biddy Duke.

Fractions on the race were 22.74, 45.77 and 57.54.

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Sadler To Keep Rock Your World In California To Train Up To Kentucky Derby

Rock Your World was on the wash rack at 7:30 Easter morning cleaning up as readily as he dusted off eight rivals in Saturday's Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby in Arcadia, Calif., earning him a place on racing's biggest stage, the Kentucky Derby on May 1.

Trained by John Sadler for owners Kosta and Peter Hronis and Talla Racing, and bred by Hall of Fame trainer Ron McAnally and his wife, Debbie, Rock Your World went to the front and never looked back, winning by 4 ¼ lengths, giving two-time Italian riding champion Umberto Rispoli his first Grade 1 victory in the United States.

Rock Your World, a son of Candy Ride out of the Empire Maker mare Charm the Maker, earned 100 Kentucky Derby qualifying points with the victory and will attempt to become the 20th horse to run in the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby and go on to capture the Kentucky Derby.

“We're still enjoying this win,” Sadler said. “This is Easter Sunday, so Monday we'll look at the calendar (for an itinerary), but he would have a traditional California pattern where we'll train here and go to Kentucky the week of the race.”

It was Rock Your World's first race on dirt after two victories on turf, but Sadler always seemed confident the colt would make a successful transition to the main track.

“You're hoping, but it's one of those things, you don't know until you do it,” said Sadler, who is seeking his first victory in the Run for the Roses. “We're thrilled the way things worked out.

“I've never won the Derby, but last time I was there (at Churchill Downs) we won the Breeders' Cup Classic (in 2018 with Accelerate), so I'm looking forward to going back to Louisville.

“We've run four horses in the Kentucky Derby before but haven't won.

“Umberto has been a great addition to our jockey colony … I was kind of shocked hearing this was his first Grade 1 win here. He did so well last year I thought he would have picked up one already. He's a good kid, very competitive.”

Ditto for Rock Your World.

Baffert on runner-up Medina Spirit: 'Four weeks to sharpen him up'
Medina Spirit, a game second as the 9-10 favorite behind Rock Your World in Saturday's Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., came out of the race in good order and will attempt to give Bob Baffert his seventh victory in the world's most famous race on May 1.

“He ran a game race like he always does,” Baffert said of the $35,000 bargain son of Protonico. “The winner was very impressive, but our horse showed up, he ran his race, he came out of it well and we've got four weeks to sharpen him up.

“He'll be right there. He's always going to be tough; he tries hard all the time.”

Baffert also sent out maiden sprint winner Defunded in the race and the gelded son of Dialed In rallied to finish fourth.

“He got real tired towards the end,” Baffert said. “He wasn't ready for something like that but we had to take a chance at it. I don't know where I'll run him next.”

Meanwhile, Baffert has Rebel winner Concert Tour and runner-up Hozier set for this Saturday's Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park.

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Champion Gamine Gallops As Expected in Las Flores

Michael Lund's Gamine (Into Mischief) ran to overwhelming favoritism in what amounted to a paid workout in Sunday's GIII Las Flores S. at Santa Anita. Last seen solidifying champion female sprinter honors with a 6 1/4-length drubbing of formidable elders in Keeneland's GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint Nov. 7, the newly turned 4-year-old was supplemented to this event for $2,000 and took practically every penny of tote support to be off at 1-9. Ridden along from the fence by John Velazquez to seize the early lead, she looked more like 1-900 after that, clicking off splits of :22.74 and :45.77 while perhaps bearing out slightly turning for home under stout restraint. A bit slow to switch her leads, the chalk found her footing after a right-handed reminder and cantered away from there to run up the score to five lengths. Fellow Bob Baffert trainee Qahira (Cairo Prince) was best of the remaining three.

Sunday, Santa Anita Park
LAS FLORES S.-GIII, $98,000, Santa Anita, 4-4, 4yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:09.52, ft.
1–GAMINE, 124, f, 4, by Into Mischief
1st Dam: Peggy Jane (SP, $102,050), by Kafwain
2nd Dam: Seattle Splash, by Chief Seattle
3rd Dam: Grand Splash, by Bucksplasher
'TDN Rising Star'. ($220,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP; $1,800,000 2yo
'19 EASMAY). O-Michael Lund Petersen; B-Grace
Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-John R.
Velazquez. $60,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. Female Sprint,
MGISW, 7-5-0-0, $943,000. Werk Nick Rating: A++.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Qahira, 122, m, 5, Cairo Prince–Motel Lass, by Bates Motel.
'TDN Rising Star'. ($130,000 Ylg '17 FTKOCT; $375,000 2yo '18
OBSOPN). O-Baoma Corporation; B-Nekia Farm & Hunter
Valley Farm (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $20,000.
3–Biddy Duke, 124, f, 4, Bayern–Ghostslayer, by Ghostzapper.
($22,000 Wlg '17 KEENOV; $30,000 RNA Ylg '18 FTKOCT;
$40,000 2yo '19 FTKHRA). O-Joseph E. Besecker; B-Machmer
Hall & D + J Racing LLC (KY); T-Doug F. O'Neill. $12,000.
Margins: 5, 2 3/4, 18 3/4. Odds: 0.05, 10.00, 31.80.
Also Ran: Hang a Star. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

“She came back so good,” Velazquez said. “Bob has done a great job to bring her back after so many months on a layoff. She felt as good as last year. Bob thinks she's not ready yet, that's what he told me. She does everything so effortlessly, it's just everything she does makes my job a lot easier. I just steer where I want to go and that's it. That's the biggest point of her strength I believe.”

The $1.8-million Fasig-Tipton Midlantic '19 topper off a powerful :10 flat breeze was a shoe-in for 'TDN Rising Star'-dom when she surfaced here last March to open her account a 6 1/4-length victoress. She bested eventual GISW Speech (Mr Speaker) when stretched out to two turns in an Oaklawn allowance in May, but was subsequently DQ'd for a lidocaine positive. After an 18 3/4-length laugher in the GI Acorn S. at Belmont June 20 first time under Velazquez, she took Saratoga's GI Test S. Aug. 8 by seven lengths going seven eighths. The bay was 7-10 to see out nine furlongs in the Sept. 4 GI Kentucky Oaks, but never looked like herself that day and checked in third before again being stripped of purse earnings, this time for the anti-inflammatory betamethasone. Gamine presented further evidence that one turn might be her best game when pairing up her 110 Acorn Beyer Speed Figure in the F/M Sprint, crushing the likes of speedy MGISW Serengeti Empress (Alternation) and in-form Bell's the One (Majesticperfection).

“She looked fantastic, they both (Qahira) looked fantastic in the paddock and the only thing I was worried about was bad luck,” Baffert said. “I told [Johnny] before, 'With the one hole make sure you don't let her make the gap. Ride her like she's 10-1.' I'm happy for my owners and everybody involved. They are excited, it's Easter Sunday, so it's a big win. For her to start off here, I'm glad I got to run her. There's a lot of people who came out to watch her run.

“[The fans] saw one of the greatest fillies I've ever trained going one turn. Hopefully we'll stretch her out. Michael Lund has been a great supporter of mine. I told him I was going to give her a little race but the purse isn't very big. But he was excited he said, 'I want to see her run.' So when you own one like that it's fun to see them run.”

Danish-born and Maryland-based Lund has also campaigned the likes of MGISW Mor Spirit (Eskendereya) and $625,000 FTMMAY purchase and MGSW Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man), who he sold to Prince Faisal before the fellow Baffert pupil took last year's GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. Presented by Runhappy. The Pandora Jewelry co-founder went back to the well at Fasig Midlantic last term, purchasing a sale-topping Uncle Mo filly for $1.1 million who remains unraced and unnamed.

Pedigree Notes:

A major factor in her sire Into Mischief's progeny earnings record in 2020, along with former stablemate and Horse of the Year Authentic, Gamine is one of 39 graded winners for the Spendthrift super sire. She is one of his nine highest-level winners, which now also includes Mischevious Alex after Saturday's dominant victory in the GI Carter H.

Kafwain has sired the dams of four graded/group winners, including fellow Test S. heroine Paola Queen (Flatter). Gamine's dam Peggy Jane was a $200,000 OBSAPR '11 purchase by Barbara Banke's Grace Stables. Peggy Jane's 3-year-old colt Splashtown (Speightsown) was a $300,000 FTKOCT yearling and is on the worktab at Palm Beach Downs. She has a Ghostzapper juvenile filly and a Kantharos yearling colt and was most recently bred back to Into Mischief.

Banke's Stonestreet was represented by a pair of standout fillies in the GI Kentucky Oaks division in homebred and GIII Fantasy S. heroine Pauline's Pearl (Tapit) and Stonestreet bred and sold GI Ashland S. winner Malathaat (Curlin).

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‘Let’s Go’: Early Move By Prat Helps Soothsay Capture Santa Anita Oaks

Flavien Prat, Santa Anita's runaway leading rider, seized the initiative aboard lightly raced Soothsay three furlongs from home and went on to a stellar half-length score over heavily favored Beautiful Gift in Saturday's Grade 2, $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. Trained by Richard Mandella, Soothsay, in her second career start, got a mile and one sixteenth in 1:44.35.

“It (the pace) was pretty slow, so I thought twice and said 'Let's go, we better go now'” said Prat in reference to his bold move heading into the far turn. “I asked her at the three furlong pole and she went so easy. She responded really well.”

A 1 ½ length maiden winner going six furlongs on Feb. 26, Soothsay was off at 4-1 in a field of four sophomore fillies and paid $10.40 and $3.60 with no show wagering.

“We expected a lot of her from the first start and from that start until now, she just grew up,” said Mandella, who notched his fourth career win in the Oaks. “You kind of see it happening. Otherwise, we wouldn't do something like this. If you watched her last workout, you could see how serious she was. We'll see about the (Kentucky) Oaks (Grade I, April 30 at Churchill Downs). We asked a lot of her to do this, so we'll make sure we pare back whatever we need.”

Owned by Claiborne Farm, Perry Bass, II, Ramona Bass and Adele Dilschneider, Soothsay is a Kentucky-bred filly by Distorted Humor out of the Bernardini mare Spellbound. With the winner's share of $240,000, she sent her earnings to the $276,600 mark.

Although Beautiful Gift was sitting a seemingly perfect second, a half length off of pacesetter Moraz with three and a half furlongs to run, Moraz drifted out a bit, enabling the winner to scoot through at the rail and from the three furlong pole, Beautiful Gift was unable to wrest control, finishing second, 5 ¼ lengths in front of Moraz.

Ridden by John Velazquez and off as the 4-5 favorite, Beautiful Gift paid $2.60 to place.

“The other horse cut the corner at the top of the stretch and I had to go pretty wide, so that was the difference between winning and losing the race right there,” said Velazquez. “The trip worked out just the way I planned it, except for the other horse getting through on the inside.”

With 170 Kentucky Oaks qualifying points at stake, Soothsay will receive 100, with 40, 20 and 10 points going to the second, third and fourth place (Javanica) finishers.

Fractions on the race were 24.34, 49.04, 1:13.18 and 1:38.08.

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