Bob Baffert left for Kentucky last week with three top Breeders’ Cup Classic contenders. He’s coming back to California with plenty of hardware, but with some pretty significant holes to fill. Authentic beat stablemate Improbable by 2 1/4 lengths in the Classic at Keeneland on Saturday, which should secure champion 3-year-old male, as well as Horse of the Year, for Authentic, and the older dirt male title for Improbable. Improbable on Sunday morning left the Keeneland grounds for WinStar Farm, where he will begin stud duty next spring. Maximum Security, who finished fifth for Baffert in the Classic, went by van Sunday morning to Coolmore Ashford, where he, too, will begin stud duty. A decision – as soon as Monday morning - is pending on Authentic, who is ticketed to Spendthrift Farm at the conclusion of his racing career. But before those horses traveled to Kentucky, Baffert told his staff to “say goodbye to all three of them, just in case.” If Authentic is done, he’s going out on the highest of notes, beating a strong group of older runners and securing two Eclipse Awards. His residual value could not be stronger at the moment, what with the Classic and Kentucky Derby wins in the past two months. From a racing standpoint, though, Authentic still might not have reached his peak. A May foal, he has raced just eight times, and clearly is getting better with racing and maturity. He got a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 111 in the Classic. In addition to a first prize of $3.12 million from the $6 million purse, Authentic earned a $1 million bonus for winning the Haskell, Kentucky Derby, and Classic, and the victory got him a free berth in the Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 23. “He’s just getting better and better. He’s caught up with the older horses,” Baffert said Sunday morning. “I’d love to run him as a 4-year-old. There’s lots of improvement there. But that decision is out of my hands.” The call will be made by B. Wayne Hughes, owner of Spendthrift Farm, which purchased a controlling interest in Authentic earlier this year from his original owners, which included SF Racing and Starlight Racing. The partnership Myracehorse Stable, and Madaket Stables, also are part of the current ownership. Spendthrift stands Authentic’s sire, Into Mischief, who had two Breeders’ Cup winners Saturday - Authentic and Gamine, who took the Filly and Mare Sprint - both for Baffert. Authentic was purchased as a yearling for $350,000 as part of a large number of colts acquired at Keeneland in September 2018 by SF Racing and Starlight. They sent them to Baffert, a program they’ve had in effect for several years - starting with the crop that produced Justify, the 2018 Triple Crown winner – and has continued with the current crop of 2-year-olds and recently purchased yearlings. Authentic was considered by Baffert as his top Derby prospect at the beginning of the year, before Charlatan and Nadal came to the fore. Then came the pandemic. The Derby was postponed by four months, and by that time Charlatan was sidelined with an injury, and Nadal had been retired. “Originally he was number one, then the others came around,” Baffert said. Authentic won the Grade 3 Sham on Jan. 4 and the Grade 2 San Felipe on March 7 prior to a suspension of racing at Santa Anita. He did not race again until June 6, in a Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby that had been postponed two months. Authentic was in light training early on during the shutdown, and Baffert believes he was not fully cranked for the Santa Anita Derby, though he did run a good race, finishing second to the top-class 3-year-old Honor A. P. He subsequently won the Grade 1 Haskell, then the Derby, whose four-month postponement enabled Authentic to progress both physically and mentally before his first try at 1 1/4 miles. Authentic ran a terrific race in the Preakness, but the filly Swiss Skydiver simply out-dueled him to the wire. Authentic then returned to Santa Anita to prepare for the Classic, and turned in a strong series of drills, as did both Improbable and Maximum Security. Authentic is the fourth Classic winner for Baffert, all with 3-year-olds, following Bayern, American Pharoah, and Arrogate, who won consecutively from 2014 to 2016. American Pharoah, the 2015 Triple Crown winner, was named champion 3-year-old and Horse of the Year, which Authentic is attempting to emulate. Improbable also should get an Eclipse Award, since he won three Grade 1 races for older dirt runners and outran his chief rivals, Maximum Security and Tom’s d’Etat, in the Classic. He holds a 2-0 edge on Maximum Security in head-to-head battles, and is 2-1 over Tom’s d’Etat. “Authentic and Improbable, they both showed up,” Baffert said. “Max, he didn’t have it.” With at least two and potentially all three not racing next year, “Mucho Gusto just got moved way up,” Baffert said. Mucho Gusto, 4, winner of the Pegasus in January, has not raced since finishing fourth in the inaugural Saudi Cup in February. Owned by Saudi interests, the Saudi Cup is his main goal again, and he’s been managed accordingly. Mucho Gusto is up to five furlongs in his works at Los Alamitos, and Baffert said he is scheduled to join his main string at Santa Anita this week. Global Campaign, third in the Classic, will begin stud duty next spring at WinStar, but could race once more, in the Pegasus, for trainer Stan Hough. Tacitus, fourth in the Classic, is expected to remain in training next year at age 5 for Bill Mott. Belmont winner Tiz the Law, who finished sixth, also stays in training for a 4-year-old campaign for Barclay Tagg. Tom’s d’Etat, who was ninth, has been retired and joins Global Campaign and Improbable as WinStar stallions in 2021. And Higher Power, who finished last, begins stud duty in the spring at Darby Dan. - additional reporting by Nicole Russo