Gamine never gives them a chance in Acorn, winning off by 18 3/4 lengths

On a day celebrating the Belmont Stakes and the commencement of this unusual Triple Crown season, it was the filly Gamine who shined brightest, scoring a record-setting victory in the Grade 1, $300,000 Acorn Stakes to immediately ascend to the top of this year’s 3-year-old filly division.

Gamine had raced just twice previously, winning a maiden race and an allowance, but she had done so in fashion that made her the odds-on favorite for the Acorn. But even the public’s confidence in her ability to win the race couldn’t have equaled what transpired, as she won by 18 3/4 lengths in a swift 1:32.55 for one mile on the fast main track.

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Both the margin of victory and final time were records for the Acorn. The time was .31 off the track record.

“We always knew she was that kind of filly,” said her trainer, Bob Baffert, who watched the race from his home in Southern California. “That was cool. I’m excited. She showed her stuff.”

With the Kentucky Oaks coming 11 weeks after the Acorn this year, rather than five weeks before, this race also became a prep for the Sept. 4 Oaks, with Gamine earning 50 points.

Gamine, starting from the inside in the seven-horse field, broke sharply under jockey John Velazquez and sped through the opening quarter in 22.48 seconds while being kept off the rail.

“She wanted to lean out a little bit,” Velazquez said on NBC’s telecast. “I didn’t want to be in her mouth.”

Gamine was in front by one length after that opening quarter, but she gradually widened her margin around the far turn, entering the lane with a 3 1/2-length lead after six furlongs in 1:09.33, and then she poured it on with a final quarter recorded in 23.22 seconds.

Her Beyer Speed Figure was gigantic, a 110. Her win mutuel was not. She paid $3.40.

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Pleasant Orb, the longest shot in the field at 39-1, rallied up the rail for second after encountering some traffic trouble at the top of the lane. She finished a half-length in front of 33-1 shot Water White, who was 7 3/4 lengths in front of Lucrezia in fourth. Perfect Alibi, Casual, and Glass Ceiling completed the spread-out field, in that order.

Gamine, by Into Mischief, was purchased as a 2-year-old in training last year by owner Michael Lund Petersen for $1.8 million. She did not make her debut until March 7, when she coasted home against three overmatched rivals in a maiden sprint race at Santa Anita. On May 2, she stretched out around two turns and won an allowance race at Oaklawn Park by a neck while earning a Beyer Figure of 98. That result, though, could be in jeopardy.

The Oaklawn race was held on closing day of the meet. Bernie Hettel, state steward for the Arkansas Racing Commission, late last month said there were two “uncleared samples” from that card. One was of Charlatan, winner of a division of the Arkansas Derby, also trained by Baffert. Asked if the second May 2 test needing confirmation was also a Baffert runner, Hettel said, “Draw your own conclusion.”

Baffert had three runners on that card. In addition to Charlatan and Gamine, he won the other division of the Arkansas Derby with Nadal. Nadal’s co-owner, George Bolton, last month said Nadal’s test came back clean.

Gamine’s performance in the Acorn left no doubt as to her quality.

“We had to make a statement,” Baffert said Saturday.