DEL MAR, Calif. – Watching from Kentucky, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert saw what he expected when Brant won Sunday’s Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity. Brant set the pace and won the seven-furlong race as the 1-10 favorite to confirm his status among the nation’s leading 2-year-old males as the summer draws to a close. “I’m just glad he’s in my barn and I don’t have to run against him,” Baffert said in a phone interview. Brant ($2.20) won by a length over stablemate Desert Gate, the winner of the Grade 3 Best Pal Stakes on Aug. 9. Desert Gate overcame a troubled start to reach contention in early stretch. The win by Brant gave Baffert a sweep of the four graded stakes for 2-year-olds on dirt at Del Mar’s summer meeting. Among fillies, Himika won the Grade 3 Sorrento Stakes on Aug. 10. Bottle of Rouge, owned by Baffert’s wife, Jill, won Saturday’s Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante. :: Playing Santa Anita? Get the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports available now. Bottle of Rouge gave Baffert a record 12th win in the Debutante. Even more astonishing, Brant was Baffert’s record 19th winner in the Del Mar Futurity, dating back to the star Silver Charm in 1996. Silver Charm went on to win the 1997 Kentucky Derby. Whether Brant will matter in the buildup to the 2026 Kentucky Derby will not be known for months. What is clear is the colt is performing to the massive expectations that accompanied his $3 million purchase price at the Ocala Breeders’ March sale of 2-year-olds in training, a record sum for the auction house. Owned by Amr Zedan, Brant won his debut in a maiden race at 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:02.63 on July 26, closing from third to prevail by 5 1/4 lengths. He earned a remarkably high Beyer Speed Figure of 101. In the $300,500 Del Mar Futurity, Brant set the pace and was timed in 1:21.92 after setting fractions of 21.88 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 44.53 for a half-mile. “I was a little worried that he was going a little fast early,” Baffert said. “Desert Gate, he ran a big race. I like the way he settled. You want a horse that settles.” Brant earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 91, the highest in the Del Mar Futurity since the Baffert-trained Cave Rock earned a 98 in 2022. Baffert had four of the six runners in the Del Mar Futurity, including Litmus Test and Balboa, who finished fourth and fifth. Doug O’Neill had two starters, including third-place finisher Civil Liberty. “I’d like to have run 1-2-3-4,” Baffert said. “It didn’t work out.” :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  Aside from the four stakes wins with juveniles, Baffert had seven 2-year-olds win maiden races, including the highly promising colt Boyd, who won at 5 1/2 furlongs by an easy 5 1/4 lengths in 1:02.79 an hour after Brant’s win on Sunday. Boyd, who is by Violence, earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 92. Boyd was purchased for $1.05 million at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale of 2-year-olds in training in Maryland in May. He is also owned by Zedan. “It’s what we shoot for, developing these young horses,” Baffert said. “We have some more coming up.” That’s the last thing the rest of the Southern California racing community wants to hear. Baffert’s 2-year-olds in the summer and fall, as well as his 3-year-olds in the early parts of the year, have largely dominated the fields for major stakes. There was an exception earlier this year when Journalism, trained by Michael McCarthy, won the two biggest races for 3-year-olds at the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting – the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes and Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. Journalism has developed into one of the leading 3-year-olds in the nation. Baffert has not had the same measure of success with his 3-year-olds this year, although Barnes, Cash Call, Citizen Bull, Rodriguez, and Tenma have won graded stakes. Citizen Bull, who won the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar and was the champion 2-year-old male last year, won the Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar on Aug. 31 and is a contender for the BC Dirt Mile on Nov. 1. Late Sunday afternoon, Baffert said it was unclear whether Brant would have another start before the BC Juvenile on Oct. 31, with a race such as the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Oct. 4 as a possibility. “I might run or I might just wait,” Baffert said. “I don’t think he needs to run. Right now, I want to keep them all healthy.” Baffert’s 19 Del Mar Futurity winners range from Silver Charm and American Pharoah, who swept the 2015 Triple Crown, to Game Winner, the 2018 champion 2-year-old male. Others had the best days of their careers in the Del Mar Futurity. The stable has largely been designed to excel in such races, which is why Baffert’s purchases at Keeneland this week and other auctions are so closely scrutinized. Considering the size of the investments, many are bound to attract attention. “I like playing at the top,” Baffert said. “My clientele like playing at the top level. That’s why we do it. I can’t imagine coming in the morning and not playing at the top level. You can’t do it without the great clientele. I’ve got a great team. They work so hard.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.