Baeza win puts colt in Santa Anita Derby conversation

ARCADIA, Calif. – Baeza emerged as an exciting candidate for the Santa Anita Derby with an impressive maiden victory Friday at Santa Anita.

A colt sired by McKinzie and half-brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage and 2024 Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch, Baeza dominated the mile-long maiden race Friday in the third start of his career. He won by 4 3/4 lengths in 1:37.84, a fast clocking over a dirt surface that played decidedly slow.

Varney, the 8-5 favorite, was pulled up on the first turn and walked off the track under his own power. How he would have fared is uncertain because Baeza ($6.40) never looked like a loser.

“Thank God,” was trainer John Shirreffs’s immediate reaction after Baeza ran away from the field.

Mellencamp finished second, followed by Westwood, Rank, Flyin Private, and pulled-up Varney.

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Hector Berrios rode Baeza and put him into the race early. Berrios asked for speed from the gate and Baeza pressed pacesetter Flyin Private through a :46.93 half-mile before taking command midway through the far turn. Baeza, who was always running comfortably, opened up and was gone.

“When I got to the lead, he started waiting for the other horses," Berrios said. "He started looking around and was not focused on the race."

The jockey gave Baeza one right-handed crack with the whip to keep his mind on business, and Baeza ducked in sharply.

“I touched him once and he [did not] like it,” Berrios said. “He started zig-zagging. He needs to learn. He’s a little green.”

Baeza, a $1.2 million yearling owned by Lee and Susan Searing’s C R K Stable and Grandview Equine, will be considered for the Santa Anita Derby on April 5 if all goes well in the coming weeks.

“This was a big hurdle,” Shirreffs said after the maiden win. “I was very happy. He was sharp.”

The trainer then referred to the Santa Anita Derby as “a possibility.”

Baeza's win was his first start since a runner-up finish Jan. 4 in a highly rated maiden race won by subsequently stakes-placed Rodriguez. The final time by Baeza was outstanding over a fast track that produced slow times all day. Baeza earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure.

Madame Secretary scores wire-to-wire win

Earlier Friday, in race 4, Madame Secretary won going wire-to-wire in a maiden race for 3-year-old fillies at a mile on dirt.

Madame Secretary, a $900,000 yearling sired by Constitution, was timed in 1:39.92. Even accounting for the slow racetrack, the final time was average at best.

Juan Hernandez rode Madame Secretary for trainer Richard Mandella. The maiden win was her third career start. Madame Secretary is a sibling to Nickname, winner of the Grade 1 Frizette in 2015.

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