ARCADIA — Bob Baffert has now won the Malibu Stakes seven times, breaking a tie for the record by a trainer in Santa Anita’s traditional opening-day marquee race.
He has never won it quite like he did Sunday.
Two days earlier, Baffert had five horses in the $200,000, Grade I sprint for 3-year-olds and a real shot at being the first trainer to saddle the 1-2-3-4-5 finishers in a major North American race. Then, on Saturday, he had to scratch favorite Barnes because of what he labeled a minor setback. Then, 15 minutes before the race, new favorite Cornucopian, had to be scratched after the colt reared and went to the ground in the saddling paddock.
Down to three runners – which is still a lot – Baffert then watched new favorite Goal Oriented and jockey Joel Rosario rally from last in the remaining field of seven to beat Baffert’s Midland Money and Juan Hernandez by a length in front of 41,962 fans.
Phil D’Amato-trained Speedy Wilson beat Madaket Road out of third place to prevent a 1-2-3 Baffert sweep.
“There’s strength in numbers, you know?” Baffert said in the winner’s circle.
Indeed. The victory was Baffert’s third of the afternoon, following the 1-2 finish by Nysos and Nevada Beach in the Grade II Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes and a romp by Usha in the Grade I La Brea Stakes.
All three of those winners posted faster-than-usual times for those races on a main track playing faster than usual after drying out from the storms that caused Santa Anita to postpone its winter-spring season opener for two days.
The 1:20.99 clocking for 7 furlongs made this the fastest Malibu since 2016.
Goal Oriented (who paid $4.20) won for the first time at the stakes level to break a four-race losing streak at longer distances that included a fourth-place finish in the Preakness. Baffert had thought he had a chance if the front-runners tired themselves out. It worked out, as pacesetter Modus Bestia ended up last.
Goal Oriented, a son of Not This Time, is owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing and Madaket Stables, the same as Cornucopian.
“There’s no one to blame. It is what it is,” SF Racing’s Tom Ryan said of the Cornucopian incident as he awaited Goal Oriented in the winner’s circle. “We’re leading in another Grade I winner.”
Cornucopian, who was 7-5 on the tote board when he was scratched, appeared to rear away from a groom after Baffert saddled him, and went to the ground on his side. He got up quickly and looked uninjured but was looked at by a veterinarian and immediately unsaddled and scratched.
“Once they touch (the ground), that’s it, you’re out,” Baffert said, seeming to accept that safety protocol. “It was crazy. It’s just so upsetting. The horse was doing so well. I would have liked to see what he could have done.”
He said later: “Freaky deal. It doesn’t happen on a big race like that. You try to be cautious, but it just happened, you know?”
Baffert’s seventh Malibu victory in the past 15 runnings is one more than his fellow Hall of Famer Richard Mandella trained between 1988 and 2019. Baffert’s Malibu winners are The Factor, Shakin It Up, McKinzie, Charlatan, Taiba, Speed Boat Beach and how Goal Oriented. (The best horse he ran in the Malibu, Silver Charm, finished second to Mike Puype-trained Lord Grillo in 1997.)
Each was unique, but this was the weirdest.
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