Imperative's skid could end in Big Bear Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. – Imperative has had remarkable success despite his 18 straight losses. Since his most recent victory in April 2014, Imperative has earned $817,345.

Imperative, whose career earnings exceed $1.9 million, could end his drought Thursday at Santa Anita when he starts as a top contender in the $80,000 Big Bear Stakes. The one-mile race is the first non-graded stakes for Imperative since early 2014.

“Obviously, I want to try him against lesser horses,” trainer Richard Baltas said. “He kind of lost his confidence.”

He has always made money. Imperative, 3 for 33, earned $1 million for winning the 2014 Charles Town Classic; he earned $284,000 for finishing second in the same race in 2015 and $58,500 for finishing fourth early this year. His grand total at Charles Town: $1,342,500.

Imperative was freshened after finishing sixth Aug. 20 in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar. Though his competition Thursday is less daunting than Pacific Classic winner California Chrome, the Big Bear is anything but a walkover.

His rivals include Conquest Cobra, a good allowance horse, and Soi Phet, a multiple stakes winner dropping from a Grade 1. Stakes winners Magic Mark, Solid Wager, El Huerfano are entered, as are outsiders Dream Team and Plain Wrap.

Baltas sent Imperative to the San Luis Rey Downs training center following the Pacific Classic. “I changed things up because he hasn’t been running very good,” he said. “Now he’s back [at Santa Anita], and he’s doing good.”

So is Conquest Cobra, whose upward pattern stalled Aug. 24 when he finished a distant fourth as a stakes favorite at Del Mar. His alibi is unconvincing.

“He just didn’t run well,” trainer Vladimir Cerin said. “He didn’t really like being on the inside. He needed to get to the outside, and he didn’t. So, I freshened him up and waited until he was jumping out of his skin, which is now.”

Conquest Cobra, previously an allowance horse at Woodbine, was purchased for $57,000 by David and Holly Wilson at a dispersal sale last fall. At first, he looked like a lemon, bombing in his first two starts in California. But his next four starts were sharp and included two highly rated wins.

“Horses just develop and get good,” Cerin said. “I can’t attribute it to anything. It seems like he’s a lot more confident. It seems like his time came.”

KEY CONTENDERS

Imperative, by Bernardini
Last 3 Beyers: 79-103-98

◗ He was claimed for $50,000 by Kenji Morinaga and trainer George Papaprodromou in late 2013, at which time he had earned only $59,170. Morinaga, whose stable is JK Racing, transferred him to Baltas in the summer of 2015.

◗ A closer, Imperative is up against it regarding track profile. The past two weeks, speed has dominated dirt routes. Kent Desormeaux rides.

Conquest Cobra, by Pioneerof the Nile
Last 3 Beyers: 80-103-99

◗ A beneficial rider switch to Rafael Bejarano and an up-front running style make him a major player.

Soi Phet, by Tizbud
Last 3 Beyers: 81-98-95

◗ Overmatched last out, his back-to-back stakes wins in August and September are among the fastest in the field. Leonard Powell trains; Flavien Prat rides.