Once On Whiskey rallies late in Los Alamitos Derby

CYPRESS, Calif. – Once On Whiskey was far down the depth chart of trainer Bob Baffert’s 3-year-olds in the spring. His status on that list is rising this summer.

Saturday, Once On Whiskey had his stakes debut and first start around two turns. He conquered those elements with a dramatic rally in the stretch to win the Grade 3 Los Alamitos Derby by a head as a 7-1 outsider, edging 2-1 Draft Pick in the final strides.

Winning jockey Flavien Prat said the Los Alamitos stretch – more than a quarter-mile – helped Once On Whiskey, who closed from last in a field of five in the $150,000 race.

“That’s a long stretch,” he said. “In the last 100 yards, the leaders can fall apart.”

Once On Whiskey was three wide on the first turn, racing in fourth behind Ax Man, the 7-10 favorite who set fractions of 24.52 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 48.59 for a half-mile.

Draft Pick challenged Ax Man on the turn and took the lead entering the stretch. Draft Pick, who won the Grade 3 Affirmed Stakes at Santa Anita on June 10, led by 1 1/2 lengths with a furlong to go and appeared to be on his way to a second consecutive win.

Once On Whiskey closed steadily to gain a late advantage.

“The race set up well for us,” Prat said. “They picked it up on the backstretch.”

Once On Whiskey ran 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.93. He earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 86.

“We wanted to stretch him out,” Baffert said. “They were going slow and it turned into a sprint.”

Ax Man held third, finishing five lengths behind the winner. King Cause was fourth, followed by Blended Citizen in the small field.

Once On Whiskey, by Bodemeister, races for Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman. The Los Alamitos Derby was Once On Whiskey’s fourth start.

Purchased for $150,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Once on Whiskey won a seven-furlong maiden race in his second start at Santa Anita on March 24 and was third in an allowance race with a $75,000 claiming option at Churchill Downs on May 5, in the first race on Kentucky Derby day.

Once On Whiskey has won 2 of 4 starts and has earned $140,300.