2020 Eclipse Award: Authentic

The year 2020 caused plenty of interruptions in racing, most notably an altered Triple Crown that found the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve run in September. There might not have been a horse who benefited more from the four-month postponement than Authentic, who, had the Derby been run on May 2, would have been competing in the race three days before his actual third birthday.

Not that Authentic needed help. His natural talent made him the top-ranked 3-year-old in trainer Bob Baffert’s barn at the beginning of the year, and he quickly ran his record to a perfect 3 for 3 with victories in the Grade 3 Sham and Grade 2 San Felipe. But the colt who ran in the Derby in September, and then beat a stellar field in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, was a far more mature horse in the fall than he was in the spring.

When the coronavirus pandemic forced Santa Anita to close for seven weeks beginning in March, Baffert stopped on Authentic, unsure of the immediate road ahead. The Grade 1 Runhappy Santa Anita Derby was subsequently announced as postponed for two months, and though Authentic came around quickly in his training for that race, he wasn’t quite where Baffert wanted him, and lost for the first time.

Six weeks later, Authentic led from start to finish in the TVG.com Haskell, his first Grade 1 win, but he barely lasted in the 1 1/8-mile race over Ny Traffic. That called into question whether the additional furlong of the Derby would be attainable, and caused his price to float to 8-1.

:: Full list of 2020 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories

Authentic led virtually every step of the Derby, gamely turning back Tiz the Law to give Baffert his sixth Derby win, tying him atop the leaderboard with the legendary Ben Jones.

Authentic moved on to the Preakness, this year four weeks after the Derby and the final leg of the Triple Crown, and though he ran well, he couldn’t get past the filly Swiss Skydiver.

Four weeks later, Authentic was ready for the race of his life in the Classic. He led from start to finish while defeating a strong group of older runners, including stablemate Improbable, and fellow 3-year-old Tiz the Law in a race widely acknowledged as a likely title decider for 3-year-old male and Horse of the Year.

That gave Authentic a 2020 record of five wins and two seconds in seven starts, with three Grade 1 wins.

Authentic, a colt by Into Mischief out of the Mr. Greeley mare Flawless, was bred by Peter Blum and was sold as a yearling for $350,000 to SF Bloodstock and Starlight West. He began his career racing for those two entities, plus Madaket Stables, Fred Hertrich III, John D. Fielding, and Golconda Stables. Spendthrift Farm bought out SF, Hertrich, Fielding, and Golconda prior to the Santa Anita Derby, and brought aboard MyRaceHorse Stable prior to the Haskell.

If Authentic prevails, he would be the 10th champion in this division trained by Baffert, and the fifth in the last six years.

Authentic was retired to Spendthrift after the Classic, and is currently awaiting the start of the breeding season next month.