Rising star Smooth Roller captures Awesome Again

ARCADIA, Calif. – Smooth Roller and Bayern are both age 4. For one, he’s only just begun. For the other, his best days are past.

That was the implication on Saturday at Santa Anita, when Smooth Roller, making just the fourth start of his career, won the Grade 1, $300,750 Awesome Again Stakes, earning a berth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, a race Bayern won last year but will fall well short of making this year.

Smooth Roller ($13) had never run in a graded stakes before, but he benefited by facing a group of older horses who are past their glory days, and the fact he’s still on the way up. Smooth Roller tracked the early pace of Bayern, took over in upper stretch, and drew away for a 5 1/4-length victory under jockey Tyler Baze.

Hoppertunity rallied for second, 1 1/2 lengths in front of his Bob Baffert-trained stablemate, Bayern, the 6-5 favorite. Imperative was fourth and was followed, in order, by Point Piper, Hard Aces, Sammy Mandeville, and Global View.

Smooth Roller completed 1 1/8 miles on the fast main track in 1:48.08. He finished the final three furlongs in less than 35.83 seconds after tracking Bayern’s six-furlong split of 1:12.25.

Smooth Roller, a gelding by Hard Spun, did not make it to the races until June. He won his first two starts, then had a dreadful trip in the Brubaker at Del Mar on Aug. 26. His troubles, trainer Victor Garcia noted, started well before the race.

“In the paddock he was soaking wet,” Garcia said. “He tried to flip in the gate, stumbled, was four- or five-wide, and only got beat a length and a quarter. I threw away his last race.”

Smooth Roller came to Santa Anita and turned in two strong drills, giving Garcia and owner Miguel Rubio – who races as Lucky Charm Stable – the impetus to run in the Awesome Again.

Smooth Roller will have to run against far better next time. The Awesome Again is a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Classic on Oct. 31 at Keeneland, and Garcia said the intention was to take the free roll and run against the likes of American Pharoah, Honor Code, and Beholder.

“That’s the only way to find out if he’s good enough, to run with the big boys,” Garcia said.

Bayern had a sensational 2014 campaign, winning the 6 of 10 including the Breeders’ Cup Classic and the Haskell. But he is now winless in five starts this year. He nearly was retired after losing the Pacific Classic last month, but he was given one more chance to bounce back. He is scheduled to enter stud next spring at Hill ’n’ Dale in Kentucky.