Newgate returns to work after Big Cap, possible for trip to Dubai

Fresh from a win in Sunday’s Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap, Newgate was back on the track at Santa Anita on Thursday with a potential trip to Dubai later this month a viable option, trainer Bob Baffert said.

“He came out of the race really well,” Baffert said. “He went back to the track and looks sharp.

“Now, he’s ready. He’s a fleshy horse. Racing will be good for him.

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“We’ll know this weekend what our next plans are.”

The $12 million Dubai World Cup will be run at Meydan Racecourse on March 30. Baffert knows the race well, having won four times, most recently with Country Grammar in 2022.

Newgate, a winner of 3 of 9 starts, won the most prestigious race of his career in the Big Cap at 1 1/4 miles, the same distance as the Dubai World Cup.

Newgate, who races for the partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stable, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stable, Jay Schoenfarber, Wave Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan, has earned $535,775.

Arabian Knight, another prominent Baffert-trained 4-year-old, is being prepared for a 2024 season. Unraced since a fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita in November, Arabian Knight is in light training, Baffert said.

“I gave him a breather,” Baffert said.

Arabian Knight has won 3 of 5 starts and earned $1,544,725. The colt won the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar last September.

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