Defunded gives Baffert a record win; Arabian Lion Belmont-bound

When Defunded won the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita on Monday, Hall of Famer Bob Baffert became the all-time winningest trainer of a race first run in 1938 at Hollywood Park.

Baffert, 70, has nine Gold Cup wins, one more than the late Hall of Famer Charles Whittingham.

“I won it with a Kentucky Derby winner and Charlie won it with a Kentucky Derby winner,” Baffert reflected on Wednesday. “It’s an honor to be in that same list with Charlie Whittingham who is the all-time greatest.”

Baffert won the Gold Cup for the first time with Real Quiet at Hollywood Park in 1999, a year after that colt won the Kentucky Derby. Whittingham won his eighth Gold Cup with Ferdinand, a year after Ferdinand’s win in the Kentucky Derby.

Whittingham won his first Gold Cup in 1971, the first of four consecutive wins in the race for his stable. Whittingham swept the top three positions in the 1973 Gold Cup with Kennedy Road, Quack, and Cougar II.

Baffert has finished one-two on three occasions.

Before Hollywood Park closed in 2013, Baffert won the Gold Cup four more times at the venue with Congaree in 2003, First Dude in 2011, and Game on Dude in 2012 and 2013.

:: Get ready for Santa Anita racing with DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports.

Baffert won the race in 2017 with Cupid when it was known as the Gold Cup at Santa Anita. The Hollywood Gold Cup name was restored in 2020. Baffert won the race that year with Improbable and again in 2021 with Country Grammer.

Defunded, a 5-year-old gelding by Mineshaft, led throughout to win the $400,500 Gold Cup by a length over 28-1 Piroli. For Defunded, the Gold Cup was his fourth stakes win, but first at 1 1/4 miles. Owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman, Defunded has won three stakes at 1 1/8 miles since last fall, including the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes last October, and the Grade 2 Californian Stakes at Santa Anita on April 22.

Defunded has had three starts at 1 1/4 miles, finishing second in the 2022 Gold Cup to There Goes Harvard, and third to Stilleto Boy in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap in March.

With the Breeders’ Cup Classic at 1 1/4 miles at Santa Anita on Nov. 4, Defunded has a long-range objective at Baffert’s home track. In the interim, a start in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Sept. 2 is likely. The $1 million Pacific Classic is Del Mar’s leading annual race.

Baffert has won the Pacific Classic a record-equaling six times, sharing the mark with the late Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel.

Arabian Lion to Woody Stephens

Arabian Lion, an easy winner of the Sir Barton Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Pimlico on May 20, is likely bound for another race on the East Coast in the Grade 1 Woody Stephens Stakes at Belmont Park on June 10, trainer Bob Baffert said on Wednesday.

:: Get Santa Anita Clocker Reports straight from the morning workouts at the track. Available every race day.

Arabian Lion was sent back to Baffert’s base at Santa Anita after the Sir Barton, the colt’s first stakes win in his fourth appearance in such a race. Arabian Lion worked three furlongs in 36.20 seconds at Santa Anita on Monday, his first workout since the Sir Barton.

The $400,000 Woody Stephens Stakes is run at seven furlongs for 3-year-olds and is part of the Belmont Stakes program.
Owned by Amr Zedan, Arabian Lion has won 2 of 6 starts and earned $217,600. By Justify, Arabian Lion was purchased for $600,000 at a 2-year-olds in-training sale in April 2022.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.