Baeza back at Santa Anita to prepare for Belmont

Baeza, who drew into the Kentucky Derby from the also-eligible list last week, returned to trainer John Shirreffs’s stable at Santa Anita on Tuesday evening.

Baeza, who races for Lee and Susan Searing’s CRK Stable, will be based in California in the buildup to his next scheduled start, the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes at Saratoga on June 7. The Belmont is also expected to be the next start for Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty.

In the Derby, Baeza was beaten 1 3/4 lengths by Sovereignty and was a neck behind second-place finisher Journalism.

“He looks great,” Shirreffs said. “I thought he ran a really good race. He came through, he was trying hard, and finished well.”

Baeza, by McKinzie, finished 2 1/2 lengths clear of fourth-place finisher Final Gambit in the Derby.

“Those three horses separated themselves from the other horses,” said Shirreffs.

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Shirreffs wasted no time in getting Baeza back into training on Wednesday, albeit with a minor assignment.

“We’ll take him out for a little jog this morning and get back into a little routine,” he said.

With Belmont Park on Long Island undergoing a renovation, the Belmont Stakes at Saratoga will be run at 1 1/4 miles, as it was last year, and not at the traditional distance of 1 1/2 miles.

Baeza’s performance in the Kentucky Derby left Shirreffs confident that 1 1/4 miles is a good distance for the colt, a $1.2 million yearling purchase.

“That will be an exciting day for us,” Shirreffs said of the Belmont.

Shirreffs said watching Baeza on the replays was difficult because the Searings' purple and gold colors were covered in mud.

“I could hardly find him,” he said. “I had to watch it about four times to spot him at the different poles.”

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