Baffert returns to stakes winning as High Connection takes Los Alamitos Derby

CYPRESS, Calif. - Good behavior put High Connection in the winner’s circle of Saturday’s $125,000 Los Alamitos Derby and gave Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his first stakes win since returning from a highly publicized 90-day suspension.

High Connection, always near the front, kept a straight line in the stretch to win by 1 3/4 lengths over even-money Slow Down Andy, who drifted to the inside when contending for the lead in the final furlong.

Ridden by Juan Hernandez, High Connection ($5.40) ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.98 for his first stakes win and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 89.

Win the Day (19-1) finished third, followed by Doppelganger and Got Thunder in the small field.

High Connection and Doppelganger were Baffert’s first runners in a stakes since Cezanne finished second in the Grade 3 Oaklawn Mile at Oaklawn Park on April 2. Days later, Baffert began a 90-day suspension for a medication positive found in a post-race test taken from Medina Spirit after a first-place finish in the 2021 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. The suspension ended on July 3.

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High Connection was Baffert’s first stakes winner since Country Grammer won the $12 million Dubai World Cup in the United Arab Emirates on March 26, and his first in the United States since Eda won the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel Stakes at Santa Anita on March 6.

High Connection won his debut in a maiden special weight race at 6 1/2 furlongs at Santa Anita on March 26 and raced for trainer Sean McCarthy during Baffert’s suspension.

A colt by the Curlin stallion Correct, High Connection was a well-beaten second in his stakes debut in the Grade 3 Affirmed Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on June 11.

In the Los Alamitos Derby, High Connection engaged with Slow Down Andy for the lead through early fractions of 22.46 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 46.48 for a half-mile. Slow Down Andy led by a head after six furlongs, but lost the advantage with an erratic running path in the stretch.

Slow Down Andy displayed the same behavior last December, but still won the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity. Mario Gutierrez has been aboard Slow Down Andy in all six of his starts, and was at a loss for the colt’s antics after Saturday’s race.

“That’s twice he ran here and did that,” Gutierrez said. “I don’t know why.”

Hernandez wondered whether Slow Down Andy reacted to tire marks made by the starting gate, which the field passed over with a furlong remaining. He said High Connection noticed the tracks but did not lose momentum.

“I corrected him right away,” Hernandez said. “He kept going.

“I got lucky the other horse did that. It should have been closer.”

High Connection, who races for Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud, has won 2 of 4 starts and earned $149,500.