Merneith's win in Santa Monica special for Baffert and Maldonado

ARCADIA, Calif. – Merneith gave jockey Edwin Maldonado his first win for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert in Saturday’s Grade 2 Santa Monica Stakes for fillies and mares at Santa Anita.

Baffert reached his own milestone in the $202,000 Santa Monica. He had three runners in the race and swept the trifecta positions when Golden Principal finished second and Qahira was third in a field of nine.

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The last time Baffert swept the first three positions in a stakes came in the Grade 2 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita in January 2020 with Bast, Auberge, and Golden Principal. There were four stakes in 2020 in which Baffert-trained runners swept the exacta, notably the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on Nov. 7 with Authentic and Improbable.

Baffert had the first four finishers in the Grade 3 Hollywood Prevue at Hollywood Park in November 2006 with Really Mr. Greeley, Super Ninety Nine, Shakin It Up, and Z Big Apple.

Merneith ($20.40) was the longest price of the Baffert-trained runners in the Santa Monica. A 4-year-old filly owned by Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Merneith led throughout from the rail and won by 2 1/4 lengths. The victory was Merneith’s first in a graded stakes.

“I’ve always been high on her and she always works like a Grade 1 horse,” Baffert said on Sunday. “It depends on the track. She got over it pretty well yesterday.

“She wants to go further. She left there and Maldonado rode her very patiently.”

Baffert said Merneith will be considered for the Grade 1 Beholder Mile on March 13, along with As Time Goes By, the nine-length winner of an allowance race at a mile on Jan. 17.

Merneith was Maldonado’s 12th mount for Baffert.

“One of my personal dreams was to win a race for Bob, whether it was a $20,000 race or a $200,000 race,” Maldonado said as he walked back to the jockeys’ room. “It took a while.”

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Hard Not to Love, the 2-1 favorite in the Santa Monica, finished seventh. Trainer John Shirreffs said he was puzzled by the performance.

“I expected to run decent,” he said. “She was training well for it.”

Shirreffs said Hard Not to Love remains a possible starter for the $300,000 Beholder Mile.