Goal Oriented scores sizzling debut win

While the Triple Crown is rapidly approaching, first-time starter Goal Oriented won a maiden race for sprinters on Sunday at Santa Anita to suggest he can be an important 3-year-old later this year.

Ridden by Juan Hernandez for trainer Bob Baffert, Goal Oriented closed from sixth in a field of seven to win a six-furlong race by 3 1/4 lengths in 1:10.01. Goal Oriented earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 91.

By the Giant’s Causeway stallion Not This Time, Goal Oriented was purchased for $425,000 as a yearling at Keeneland in September 2023. He races for a partnership that includes SF Racing, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stable.

Goal Oriented is out of the two-time stakes winner Bizzy Caroline, who earned $347,935. Bizzy Caroline is a half-sister to Lady Eli, the champion turf female of 2017 who won 10 of 14 starts and earned $2,959,800.

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