Baffert works quartet for Derby prep races

Four of trainer Bob Baffert’s leading 3-year-olds worked at Santa Anita on Monday, including Citizen Bull, the champion 2-year-old male of 2024. They are all expected to start in leading stakes in the buildup to the Triple Crown in coming weeks.

Citizen Bull, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar in November, and the Grade 3 Robert Lewis Stakes on Feb. 1, worked six furlongs in 1:12 for a likely start in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 5.

Barnes, winner of the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes at seven furlongs at Santa Anita in January, worked six furlongs in 1:11.80.

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The workout was the second for Barnes since he was beaten for the first time in his third start when a good second to early Kentucky Derby favorite Journalism in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes on March 1. Despite the loss, Barnes earned a lofty Beyer Speed Figure of 105.

Gaming, second in the BC Juvenile and a finalist for the champion 2-year-old male award, worked five furlongs in 59 seconds. Gaming was eighth of nine after a troubled trip in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park on Jan. 25. He missed an intended start in the Virginia Derby on Saturday after reportedly developing a temperature earlier this month.

Cornucopian, the dazzling winner of a six-furlong maiden race in his debut at Oaklawn on Feb. 23, worked six furlongs in 1:11.80. Cornucopian was timed in 1:09.02 for his 5 1/2-length maiden win and earned a Beyer of 101.

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