Hovdey: Bayern facing twilight or new dawn in Classic

There is no clinical proof that a Thoroughbred racehorse can suffer from an inferiority complex. But if ever there was a candidate, his name is Bayern.

Yes, Bayern, the romping hero just last year of the Woody Stephens, the Haskell Invitational, and the Pennsylvania Derby. The controversial yet thoroughly brave winner of the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Classic. Twice the conqueror of 2014 Horse of the Year California Chrome and the undisputed kingpin of the Bob Baffert stable as the 2015 season commenced.

Today, Bayern has become almost an afterthought. “What’s happened to Bayern?” is heard more often than not. His presence in the field for the $1 million Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Saturday has caused barely a ripple of attention, despite a bankroll of $4.4 million, a good race over the track, smart works since he ran, and leading rider Rafael Bejarano in the saddle.

Bayern lives in the middle stall of a bona fide Murderers’ Row arrayed along the east side of the Baffert shed row. To one side is Dortmund, the 2015 Santa Anita Derby winner who has not run since the Preakness. Side by side, they make a handsome, contrasting pair – the sleek, dark bay Bayern and the king-size chestnut Dortmund – both doing business for owner Kaleem Shah.

On the other side is American Pharoah, no description required. Day after day, all summer long, visitors have trooped through the Baffert barn, testing the limits of hospitality to brush close to the Triple Crown winner. There could be male strippers and a wet bar in the stall next door, and no one would notice. Bayern, a class act, must come to his webbing and wonder, as horses sometimes wonder, “What am I, chopped liver?”

“I know. It’s not right,” said Dana Barnes, who gets on Bayern in the mornings. “They’ll be taking pictures of Pharoah and all that, and I’ll go, ‘How about a carrot for the Breeders’ Cup Classic winner?’ ”

Fame, being fickle, has left Bayern in the cold. A winter of inactivity to mend a bad foot and then two humiliating flops on the national stage have diluted the lofty reputation he attained last year through a comprehensive 10-race campaign, during which the son of Offlee Wild ran from January to November at eight different tracks in six different states.

That is why Bayern’s noncompetitive no-shows in the Churchill Downs Stakes on Derby Day and the Metropolitan Mile on Belmont Day were so stunning, even though he got less-than-perfect trips.

“It has been very frustrating,” said Shah, who bought Bayern as an unraced 2-year-old for $320,000. “I suppose you could say he had excuses in those first two races this year. But I am not one to make excuses, and in his last race, he didn’t have any.”

That was the San Diego Handicap at Del Mar on July 25, when Bayern dawdled through an opening quarter of 24 seconds in company and never did shake loose from the pack. At the end, he was passed by Catch a Flight and Appealing Tale without much of a fight.

For the Pacific Classic, Bayern will be running 1 1/4 miles for the first time since he defeated fellow 3-year-olds Toast of New York, California Chrome, and Shared Belief in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, then withstood a stewards’ inquiry over a sloppy start. To his credit, Bayern is the only one of that quartet still answering the bell.

On Saturday, in addition to Catch a Flight, Bayern will be facing the champion mare Beholder, stablemate Hoppertunity, and Hard Aces, who beat Hoppertunity by a nose in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita. Baffert was asked if the real Bayern will show up this time.

“He’s been working good, and he looks great, but a lot will depend on Tedesco,” said the trainer, referring to Del Mar track superintendent Rich Tedesco. “If it’s like quicksand out there, Bayern’s in trouble.”

Del Mar’s newly installed dirt surface has been a wild card in the handicapping deck all summer long. After eight seasons of a Polytrack surface that never seemed quite the same from one year to the next, horseplayers longed for a track they could interpret with confidence. They have been reminded this summer that dirt can be every bit as whimsical as synthetics.

Baffert runners have won the Pacific Classic once on dirt and three times on Polytrack. As far as that goes, the last time a Baffert horse got a new jockey for the Pacific Classic, it worked out well. In 2013, Game On Dude’s regular rider, Mike Smith, was committed to a race at Saratoga. Martin Garcia stepped in and cut Game On Dude loose to win the Classic by a record 8 1/2 lengths.

This time around, Baffert and his owners have shuffled the deck, moving Garcia, Bayern’s longtime companion, to Hoppertunity and giving Bejarano a shot to win his first Classic aboard Bayern. If he’s smart, Bejarano will let Bayern be Bayern and let the dark horse roll.

“There is always the lingering thought that it has taken him longer to recover from the foot problems from earlier this year,” Shah said. “But I’d like to think this is the same colt who broke a 40-year-old track record in the Pennsylvania Derby. So, now is the time. If Bayern does not run his race, I will retire him. I won’t let him be embarrassed.”