Baffert maiden winners stepping up for Santa Anita Oaks

Three weeks after an impressive win in a maiden special weight race at a mile, Regal Beauty will have her stakes debut in Saturday’s Grade 2 Santa Anita Oaks.

The $200,000 race at 1 1/16 miles will provide a gauge of where the lightly raced Regal Beauty fits in the national division for 3-year-old fillies. The race is led by Swiss Skydiver, the easy winner of the Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks on March 28 and the Grade 3 Fantasy Stakes on May 2 at Oaklawn Park in her last two starts.

Swiss Skydiver, trained by Ken McPeek, is rated as a leading contender for the Kentucky Oaks on Sept. 4 at Churchill Downs.

The Santa Anita Oaks was originally scheduled for April 4 as a prep for the Kentucky Oaks on May 1. Both races were postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak.

For Regal Beauty, the delay has allowed her to take part in the Santa Anita Oaks. She was not ready for stakes earlier this spring, having finished second and fifth in maiden special weight races in January and February in her first two starts.

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In the maiden race on May 17, Regal Beauty was always near the front and pulled clear to win by 3 1/4 lengths at 11-1 under jockey Abel Cedillo, who has the mount Saturday. Regal Beauty is trained by Bob Baffert for owners and breeders Gary and Mary West.

“She did it right,” Baffert said of the maiden win. “There aren’t many spots to run. I’ll take a shot and see what happens.”

Regal Beauty is by Malibu Moon and is out of Book Review, who won 6 of 15 starts and earned $884,955 in a career highlighted by a win in the Grade 1 La Brea Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Santa Anita in 2012.

The Oaks, one of three graded stakes on Saturday’s program, will not have a large field. Baffert plans to runs Merneith, who also will have her stakes debut. Merneith won a maiden special weight race at six furlongs by 10 1/4 lengths on April 19 at Oaklawn Park.

There are two Grade 1 races on Saturday – the $400,000 Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles and the $300,000 Hollywood Gold Cup at 1 1/4 miles.

The Santa Anita Derby is led by Authentic and Honor A. P., the first two finishers of the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes on March 7. Other expected runners are Anneau d’Or, Azul Coast, Rushie, and Shooters Shoot.

The Santa Anita Derby was postponed from April 4 to Saturday.

The Hollywood Gold Cup field is expected to include Higher Power, Improbable, Midcourt, Parsimony, and Tenfold. The race has reverted to its old name when it was run at Hollywood Park until that’s track closure in 2013. From 2014 through 2019, the race was known as the Gold Cup at Santa Anita.