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Baffert To Saddle Messier, Barossa In Search Of Eighth Straight Win In Los Alamitos Futurity

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will send out Messier and Barossa as he seeks his eighth consecutive victory in the Grade 2, $300,000 Los Alamitos Futurity Saturday.

The contest at 1 1/16 miles for 2-year-olds is the ninth of 10 races on the next-to-last day of the Winter Thoroughbred meet at Los Alamitos. Post time Saturday is 12 Noon. Scheduled post time for the Futurity is 3:58 p.m.

Baffert, who has won each of the Los Alamitos Futurities offered at Los Alamitos since daytime Thoroughbred racing returned in 2014, trains Messier for a partnership that includes Golconda Stable, Madaket Stables LLC, SF Racing LLC, Siena Farm LLC, Starlight Racing, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, Robert Masterson and Jay Schoenfarber.

A son of Empire Maker and the Smart Strike mare Cherokee Past has won two of three and earned $105,600. After finishing second as the odds-on favorite in his debut June 27 at Los Alamitos, the Canadian bred has gone back-to-back, prevailing by a combined 10 lengths. In his most recent appearance, Messier won the Grade 3 Bob Hope by three lengths Nov. 14.

An Into Mischief colt out of the Flower Alley mare Bouquet Booth, Barossa, who has the same ownership group as Messier, finished ninth of 11 in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Nov. 5.

He's won once in four starts and earned $69,200. He broke his maiden at eight furlongs two starts back at Santa Anita.

Trainer Doug O'Neill, who was second in the 2020 Futurity with The Great One, will be represented by Durante and Slow Down Andy.

A son of Distorted Humor and the Pioneerof the Nile mare Seahawk Girl, Durante graduated as the 1-2 favorite in his most recent start at one mile Nov. 14. He's earned $54,700 in three outings for Roadrunner Racing and William Strauss.

A California bred son of Nyquist and the Square Eddie mare Edwina E, Slow Down Andy is 1-for-2 for owner-breeder J. Paul Reddam's Reddam Racing LLC. The chestnut colt won by nearly five lengths in his debut Oct. 9, then was second as the 11-10 favorite in the Golden State Juvenile four weeks later. He's banked $69,850.

Completing the field is Olympic Legend, a Street Boss colt out of the Mingun mare Brilliant Future.

Owned by breeders Lawrence Opas and Frank Sinatra and trained by Luis Mendez, Olympic Legend is the only member of the field with a win at Los Alamitos. He upset a field that included Messier when nearly 11-1 June 27. He's been idle since finishing a distant third in the Capote Stakes locally Sept. 18.

Olympic Legend is 1-for-4 with earnings of $38,500.

From inside out, the field for the Los Alamitos Futurity: Olympic Legend, Jose Valdivia, Jr. rides, 120 pounds; Durante, Umberto Rispoli, 120; Messier, Flavien Prat, 120; Barossa, Juan Hernandez, 120 and Slow Down Andy, Mario Gutierrez, 120.

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Bloodlines: Messier Bolsters One Of Unbridled Sire Line’s Strongest Branches

Twenty years after the death of Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic winner Unbridled (by Fappiano), the influence of the towering bay stallion proliferates through the breed.

In the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar on Nov. 14, the trifecta all descend from the 1990 Kentucky Derby winner. The winner was the highly touted Messier (Empire Maker), now a winner in two of his three starts. Second was Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah, by Pioneerof the Nile, by Empire Maker), and third was Winning Map (Liam's Map, by Unbridled's Song).

Through Grade 1 winner Pioneerof the Nile, the sire of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and champion juvenile Classic Empire, Empire Maker would hold a moderate advantage as the most vibrant branch of the Mr. Prospector line through Fappiano. The other challenger from the Unbridled clan is the one from Unbridled's Song, who has two useful sons at stud in champion juvenile Midshipman and in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Liam's Map, sire of Grade 1 winners Juju's Map (Alcibiades and second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies) and Colonel Liam (Pegasus Turf and Turf Classic) this year.

Empire Maker's branch of Unbridled is much more classic and more consistent in aptitude with the great classic sire Unbridled than the branch from Unbridled's Song, which flirted with levels of speed hard to believe and sometimes hard to keep sound as a result.

Breeders and buyers love both types, though.

The commercial market almost decided that Empire Maker was too classic for American racing, and then, just when the stallion was sold to Japan, Empire Maker enjoyed a resurgence in American racing and breeding with the classic aptitude of Pioneerof the Nile and his famous sons.

That brought Empire Maker back to Kentucky for the final years of his term at stud, and he has had some bright spots, both on the racetrack, as well as at the sales. Yet overall, students of bloodlines tended to love Empire Maker more than the intuitive match makers of big, beautiful yearlings.

In Messier, there is a pleasing match of pedigree elements which produced a good sales yearling. Bred in Ontario by Sam-Son Farm, Messier was sold as a yearling at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton select yearling auction for $470,000. That was a strong price for an Empire Maker yearling in 2020, and Messier has a profile in keeping with the best colts from this line: developing good stakes form late at two, before accelerating their improvement the next year to challenge for the classics.

This is the pattern of development that Empire Maker himself showed under the patient training of Bobby Frankel. After being third in the Remsen Stakes at the end of his juvenile season, Empire Maker progressed to win the G1 Florida Derby and Wood Memorial, and he was favored for the Kentucky Derby. In the classic itself, however, Empire Maker finished second behind Funny Cide, then came back in the Belmont to win at the classic 12-furlong distance.

Never out of the money in eight starts with winnings of nearly $2 million, Empire Maker possessed the racing class and physical quality and depth of pedigree to make breeders believe they could breed classic winners, and the only real knock against Empire Maker and his stock is that they are probably too classic for the American racing program, with its tedious over-emphasis on racing at distances from six to eight furlongs.

Even so, Empire Maker has sired 67 stakes winners, including 37 graded winners, and all those positive qualities attracted some splendid mares to Empire Maker, including stakes winner Checkered Past (Smart Strike), the dam of Messier.

Messier is the fifth generation of this family bred by Sam-Son Farm, including his third dam Catch the Ring (Seeking the Gold), who was champion 3-year-old filly in Canada and then the dam of Canada's champion juvenile filly Catch the Thrill, a full sister to Messier's second dam, Catch the Flag (both by A.P. Indy).

Sam-Son bred Catch the Ring, her two stakes-winning full siblings, and three stakes-placed racers from stakes winner Radiant Ring (Halo), winner of 11 races and $775,478. Radiant Ring was the best stakes winner that Sam-Son bred from the stakes-placed Gleaming mare Gleaming Stone, who was bred in Kentucky by Nuckols Bros. in 1976.

In addition to the stamp of the Sam-Son Farm breeding program, the other great influence on Messier is Mr. Prospector himself. Not only does the colt trace to the great stallion son of Raise a Native in the male line, but the colt's broodmare sire is Smart Strike, a son of Mr. Prospector who led the national sires rankings twice. And the third dam is a daughter of the fine broodmare sire Seeking the Gold, whose daughters are more dominant in America but whose male line through Dubai Millennium and his classic son Dubawi is one of the most important in Europe.

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Messier Has It Easy In Bob Hope At Del Mar

After a last-out victory in a maiden special weight race at Santa Anita Park, Messier made a successful move up to stakes company in the Grade 3 Bob Hope at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, biding his time early and drawing away late to win by three lengths.

In a short field of four, Bob Baffert had a strong hand with Messier, Kamui, and Winning Map, who went to the lead out of the gate, trading the frontrunner status with Richard Mandella's Forbidden Kingdom down the backstretch. Messier hung back in last, relaxed behind a fast pace, the first quarter in :21.40 and the half-mile in :43.23.

Around the far turn, Messier went to the outside of the two front runners, pulling even with them as they entered the stretch. Down the Del Mar stretch, those early quick fractions took their toll on Forbidden Kingdom and Winning Map who tired as Messier quickened his pace and passed them to win easily. Forbidden Kingdom was second, Winning Map third, and Kamui was fourth.

The final time for the seven-furlong Bob Hope was 1:22.74. Find this race's chart here.

Messier paid $4.40 and $2.60. Forbidden Kingdom paid $4.00. With only four starters, this race did not have any show betting.

Bred in Ontario by Sam-Son Farm, Messier is a 2-year-old colt by Empire Maker out of the Smart Strike mare Checkered Past, a listed stakes winner at Woodbine. He is owned by Golconda Stable, Madaket Stables LLC, SF Racing LLC, Siena Farm LLC, Starlight Racing, Waves Edge Capital LLC, Catherine Donovan, Robert E. Masterson, and Jay A. Schoenfarber. Messier was consigned by Sam-Son Farm and sold to SF/Starlight/Madaket for $470,000 at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling Showcase. With his win in the G3 Bob Hope, the 2-year-old has two wins in three starts for career earnings of $105,600.

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Baffert Back To Business In Juvenile Stakes At Del Mar

It may be easier for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert to decompress and recover from last week's Breeders' Cup World Championships than the majority of Del Mar racing fans.

Last Saturday, Baffert was busy with five horses to saddle in four Breeders' Cup races. It began with Gamine finishing third as the 2/5 favorite in the Filly & Mare Sprint and continued with Eight Rings (4th) in the Dirt Mile, As Time Goes By (8th), and Private Mission (11th) in the Distaff and concluded with Medina Spirit (2nd) in the Classic at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

A day earlier his Corniche had triumphed in the Juvenile with Del Mar Futurity winner Pinehurst (5th) and Barossa (9th).

A lot to get the adrenaline flowing in a 68-year-old, even one of his experience and accomplishments. But, Baffert said, recovery time from the rigors of the Breeders' Cup was minimal for him.

“As soon as it goes official, I'm thinking about the next one (race or event),” Baffert said. “I'm proud of all my horses other than Gamine and I blame myself for that. I should have given her a prep race.”

Gamine came in with five straight graded stakes victories by a combined 23 ½ lengths, but hadn't raced since late August.

He considered Private Mission, winner of the Torrey Pines Stakes here during the summer meeting, and As Time Goes By to be victims of circumstance.

Private Mission, As Time Goes By and favored Letruska blazed early before occupying three of the last four finishing positions as longshot Marche Lorraine ($101.80) rallied to win.

“We thought nobody would go with Private Mission, and then they all did,” Baffert said.

The Breeders' Cup ended on something of a high note for Baffert when Kentucky Derby winner (pending a Kentucky Racing Commission ruling) Medina Spirit finished second to runaway winner Knicks Go, polishing off a strong case for an Eclipse Award as the top 3-year-old.

This weekend, it will be back to business as usual for Baffert. That is, looming large over and being positioned to dominate Juvenile stakes races. Baffert will saddle 6/5 morning line favorite Eda and Under the Stars in a field of five for Saturday's $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes, a 6 ½-furlong sprint for 2-year-old fillies. Sunday, he has three of the five entered, not coincidentally the top three choices on the morning line, in the seven furlong Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes – Winning Map (7/5), Messier (8/5), and Kamui (5/2).

First the fillies:

“Under the Stars is a maiden (0-for-1) but she ran well the first time out and we feel she fits in there,” Baffert said. “It's a short field and an opportunity to get black type (stakes placing) on her record.

“Eda we think will like that distance.”

Eda, runner-up by a head to Elm Drive in the six-furlong G2 Sorrento Stakes in August, was the 6/5 favorite in the $300,000 G1 Del Mar Debutante on September 5. But Eda was cooked in a speed duel with Elm Drive which saw them put up fractions of :21.78 and :44.37 for the first half-mile of the seven-furlong test and fade to fifth.

“They went so fast (in the Debutante) that everything fell apart, which happens,” Baffert said with a chuckle and nod to Gamine as well as the $2 million Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff.

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Now the colts in the Bob Hope:

“I hate to run them all together, but they're all doing well and deserve a shot,” the trainer offered.

Winning Map debuted with a 4 1/4-length victory in 1:10.20 for six furlongs at Santa Anita on October 3. Messier, is named after NHL Hall of Famer Mark Messier. Messier was a teammate of the Empire Maker colt's co-owner Tom Ryan's father-in-law, Pat Hughes, along with the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey, and Grant Fuhr on those legendary Edmonton Oilers teams of the 1980s.

Messier finished second in his first start on June 27 at Los Alamitos and came back on October 22 to win by 6 ½ lengths, matching the time over the same distance that Winning Map had produced three weeks earlier.

“We're taking the blinkers off Messier,” Baffert said. “He's not as quick as the others, but we think it's a good spot for him at a distance he'll like.”

Kamui was beaten a half-length by fellow Hope entrant Forbidden Kingdom at Del Mar on August 21 and came back to score by six lengths in a 5 ½-furlong sprint at Los Alamitos Race Course in Cypress, Calif., on September 11.

The field for the Bob Hope from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds in parentheses: Messier (Flavien Prat, 8/5); Kamui (Abel Cedillo, 5/2); Winning Map (Mike Smith, 7/5); Rock N Rye (Umberto Rispoli, 15-1), and Forbidden Kingdom (Juan Hernandez, 9/2).

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