When going over his contingent for the Breeders’ Cup a week before the races and the subject turned to Citizen Bull, trainer Bob Baffert was pretty succinct in what the 2-year-old colt was all about. “He is definitely a front-runner,” Baffert said. “There are no ifs or buts about it. He’s all speed.” Citizen Bull used that speed to record a 15-1 upset in the $2 million FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 1 at Del Mar. That victory, coupled with his front-running score in the Grade 1 American Pharoah at Santa Anita a month earlier, makes Citizen Bull the favorite to win the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male. Thirty-two of the previous 40 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winners were crowned champion. Should Citizen Bull win the award, he will be the seventh 2-year-old champion male trained by Baffert since 2002. Citizen Bull is a son of Into Mischief bred by Robert and Lawana Low who brought $675,000 at the 2023 Keeneland September yearling sale. He is owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Diane Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert Masterson, Tom Ryan, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan. :: Full list of 2024 Eclipse Awards finalists, including profile stories Citizen Bull won his debut Aug. 17 at Del Mar, chasing and then outfinishing a stubborn Smash It by three-quarters of a length in a 5 1/2-furlong race. Baffert brought Citizen Bull back three weeks later in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity, where he failed to make the lead and finished a non-threatening third behind stablemate Gaming. “He was heav; Mike [Smith] rode him and he needed the race real bad,” Baffert said. “After that race, I could see a difference in him.” Baffert brought Citizen Bull back to the races in the American Pharoah. With Garcia back aboard, Citizen Bull cruised to a front-running, two-length victory over another Baffert trainee, Getaway Car. In the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, it appeared as though Citizen Bull could get into an early pace battle with East Avenue, the uber-impressive front-running winner of the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland. But when East Avenue stumbled leaving the gate, Citizen Bull, under Garcia, had an easier time making the lead. Though Citizen Bull had token pressure from his stablemate Gaming, he was still able to get away with a modest half-mile in 47.89 seconds and held Gaming at bay to win the Juvenile by 1 1/2 lengths. That completed a 3-for-4 campaign and gave Baffert a record sixth victory in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Only two horses have won the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile – Street Sense in 2006 and Nyquist in 2015 – and come back the following year to win the Kentucky Derby. Citizen Bull, who returned to the work tab in early December, is tentatively being pointed to the Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Feb. 1 at Santa Anita for his 3-year-old debut. “He’s grown, lengthened out, he really looks great,” Baffert said at the beginning of January. “He’s a better horse now than he was then.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.