Unraced since a fourth-place finish as the 4-5 favorite in the $529,900 Virginia Derby in March, Getaway Car, a two-time stakes winner, starts in an allowance race at 6 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar on Sunday against a tough field. Getaway Car is trained by Bob Baffert, who also runs Midland Money, a game second at 2-5 in an allowance race at six furlongs at Santa Anita on Oct. 26. Midland Money finished a neck behind Elwood Blues, who is part of Sunday’s allowance race, which drew a field of seven. Baffert said on Thursday that Getaway Car and Midland Money are starting on Sunday in preparation for the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes at seven furlongs for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita on Dec. 26. On Saturday, Baffert runs the graded stakes-placed Madaket Road in a seven-furlong allowance race with the same potential objective. Getaway Car, owned by a partnership that includes SF Racing and Starlight Racing, won the Grade 3 Best Pal Stakes at six furlongs in August 2024 and won the $400,000 Sunland Park Derby in New Mexico in February. He was turned out after the loss in the Virginia Derby and resumed workouts at Los Alamitos in late August. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. On Thursday, Getaway Car was given a five-furlong workout time in 59.60 seconds at Santa Anita, though Baffert said the colt worked a half-mile. “He went nice,” Baffert said. “They’re all prepping for the Malibu.” Elwood Blues, trained by Mark Glatt, drew the inside post. Sunday’s race could be an audition for sprint stakes in 2026 for Elwood Blues, a 5-year-old gelding who was claimed from Baffert for $80,000 in March. Glatt said the inside post “is never an ideal spot.” Elwood Blues “is in good form,” Glatt said. Elwood Blues was fourth or fifth in three consecutive starts on turf in the spring and early summer. He was second after a wide trip in an allowance race at six furlongs on dirt at Del Mar on Aug. 24 before the win at 6-1 in October. Glatt described a stakes appearance in coming months for Elwood Blues “as a possibility.” “We’ll see what happens on Sunday,” he said. “Our turf experiment didn’t go badly, but it didn’t make him a better horse. Clearly, he wants to run on the dirt. We’re back on track with him. “There is not a whole lot that separate these that run in high allowance or optional claimers with the horses that run in stakes around here. When a horse gets real sharp, they can easily develop into something like that.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.