Muth to bypass Rebel, remain in California

ARCADIA, Calif. – Muth, winner of the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita on Jan. 6 in his 3-year-old debut, was held out of the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park next Saturday after trainer Bob Baffert said he was unsatisfied with the colt’s workout at Santa Anita on Sunday.

Muth worked a half-mile in 47.40 seconds, but the exercise occurred at a time when morning training was disrupted after the stakes winner Big Switch was pulled up in the stretch with a fatal injury.

“He’s not going to Arkansas,” Baffert said of Muth. “He didn’t get a proper work.”

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Baffert did not elaborate on the decision to keep Muth in California.

Baffert does not have a runner in the $1.25 million Rebel Stakes at 1 1/16 miles, a key prep for the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby at 1 1/8 miles at Oaklawn Park on March 30.

Muth would have been a leading contender in the Rebel Stakes. Owned by Zedan Racing, Muth has won 3 of 5 starts and earned $716,600. He won the San Vicente Stakes at seven furlongs by 2 3/4 lengths as the 2-5 favorite, closing from third in a field of six.

Last fall, Muth won the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Sept. 7, and was a well-beaten second to Fierceness in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 3.

Baffert did not state an alternative race goal for Muth. The next graded stakes for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita is the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on March 2, a race Baffert has won eight times since 1999.

Baffert worked several notable 3-year-olds over the weekend in advance of an expected series of rainstorms in Southern California on Monday and Tuesday.

On Saturday, Nysos, the undefeated winner of the Grade 3 Robert Lewis Stakes at a mile on Feb. 3 for Baffert, worked a half-mile in 48.40 seconds, while Wynstock, winner of the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity in December, worked a half-mile in 48.40 seconds. Wynstock was last of 11 in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes at a mile at Oaklawn Park on Feb. 3 after a troubled trip.

Also on Sunday, Baffert worked Coach Prime five furlongs in 1:02. Coach Prime was third as the 4-5 favorite in the Los Alamitos Futurity in his last start.

Baffert did not mention race goals for Coach Prime, Nysos, or Wynstock.

“There’s no rush,” Baffert said. “It’s February.”

Baffert’s 3-year-olds will not appear in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 4 after the track banned his runners from the race this year for the third consecutive season. The ban stems from a positive found in a post-race test taken from the Baffert-trained Medina Spirit after that colt finished first in the 2021 Kentucky Derby.

Baffert announced last month that he was dropping litigation related to the Medina Spirit positive. After the announcement, Churchill Downs did not alter its position.

The Baffert-trained runners are eligible to start in the final two races of the Triple Crown – the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico on May 18 and the Belmont Stakes on June 8, which this year is being run at Saratoga.

Big Switch was euthanized as a result of a sesamoid injury, owner and breeder George Krikorian said on Sunday afternoon. She won two stakes for California-breds in 2021 and 2022.

Big Switch’s injury occurred shortly after a renovation break, a busy time for workouts. When such an incident occurs, a siren is activated, alerting riders to immediately pull up their mounts regardless of whether they are being worked, jogged or galloped.

There were 277 recorded works on the main track on Sunday, a number that could have been higher without the disruption. Trainer Phil D’Amato had 43 horses receive workout times and said that he had seven working when Big Switch was pulled up.

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