Lambeau leaps into Triple Bend

It has taken longer than expected for Lambeau to have his stakes debut, which comes in Saturday’s Grade 2 Triple Bend Stakes at seven furlongs at Santa Anita.

A winner of 3 of 7 starts in a career that began in the summer of 2019, the 5-year-old Lambeau has yet to meet the expectations that accompanied his $475,000 price tag as a yearling.

That could change Saturday.

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On April 10, Lambeau won his first start since July in a one-mile allowance race at Santa Anita, leading throughout at 16-1. The win has left trainer John Shirreffs encouraged that the 5-year-old Lambeau belongs in the $200,000 Triple Bend, which drew only five entrants.

“He’s a little more mature and more consistent,” Shirreffs said. “He’s always been a horse that had a lot of talent. We’re hoping that’s the case.”

Owned by Jerry Moss, Lambeau has never run in a sprint. All of his races have been at a mile or 1 1/16 miles. The shorter distance of the Triple Bend is not a worry for Shirreffs, who said the horse will be fit from the longer races.

“He’s gone a mile and he’s dropping back to seven,” he said. “That’s why we’re not too concerned about the distance.”

Lambeau will be ridden by Edwin Maldonado, and is likely to set the pace. Shirreffs said he wants Lambeau “on the lead or close to the lead.”

“We definitely have the right rider.”

Maldonado, well regarded on front-runners, rode Lambeau in his last race.

Shirreffs is the only trainer with a single starter in the Triple Bend. Peter Eurton starts Exaulted and Shooters Shoot, while Bob Baffert runs Eight Rings and Magic On Tap.

Eight Rings won the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes for 2-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles in 2019, but is winless in three subsequent starts. Eight Rings has not started since a seventh-place finish in the Grade 1 Allen Jerkens Stakes for 3-year-olds at seven furlongs at Saratoga last August.

Typical of a Baffert-trained runner, Eight Rings has worked quickly in recent weeks. Leading rider Flavien Prat rides Eight Rings for the first time, a sure sign the colt will receive support.

Magic On Tap was fourth of five in the Grade 2 Californian Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on April 17.

Exaulted and Shooters Shoot have run well at seven furlongs in recent weeks.

Exaulted, who drew the rail in the Triple Bend, closed with a wide rally from far back to finish third in the Grade 2 San Carlos Stakes at seven furlongs on March 6. Eurton expects the 4-year-old colt to be closer to the pace in the Triple Bend.

“I think the reason Shooter was back so far was because they were going so fast,” Eurton said. “He was parked out in the six hole and lost quite a bit of ground.

“Exaulted has run well from the inside. He won’t be that far off the pace.”

Shooters Shoot won an allowance race at 15-1 at seven furlongs on April 24, ending a four-race losing streak. Shooters Shoot closed well to reach the front in the final sixteenth.