San Felipe: Turns out Yakteen always had the horse he needed - Practical Move
ARCADIA, Calif. – A splashy comeback by Practical Move on Saturday at Santa Anita propelled the Tim Yakteen trainee to the upper tier of California-based prospects for the Kentucky Derby and partly mitigated behind-the-scenes discomfort.
Yakteen started four horses in the Grade 2 San Felipe – Practical Move and three previously trained by Bob Baffert – Hejazi, Fort Bragg, and Mr Fisk. It turns out, Yakteen did not need those or previous Baffert trainee National Treasure, who scratched.
Practical Move ($10.40) and jockey Ramon Vazquez saved ground in third or fourth position behind the San Felipe pace, cut the corner into the lane, switched leads, and burst clear to win the mile and one-sixteenth race by 2 1/2 lengths in 1:42.01.
Geaux Rocket Ride, the 2.70-1 favorite making just his second career start following a debut sprint win, finished 2 1/4 lengths clear of Skinner, who rallied from last to third. Hejazi set the pace but faded to fourth; comebacker Fort Bragg finished fifth with a wide trip.
Practical Move was racing for the first time since winning the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 17. His San Felipe was more impressive than his win at Los Al, against better rivals. It also alleviated some industry unease from the recent Baffert-to-Yakteen transfer. Baffert is barred from running at Churchill Downs, nor can his trainees earn Kentucky Derby qualifying points.
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Those include 3-year-olds prospects Hejazi, Fort Bragg, Mr Fisk, and National Treasure, who scratched from the San Felipe with a foot issue. The only recent Baffert-to-Yakteen runner who has emerged as a Derby prospect is Grade 2 Rebel third-place finisher Reincarnate.
Arabian Knight, another transfer, might make the Santa Anita Derby, a race in which Yakteen may already have the favorite in Practical Move.
Practical Move had trained very well all winter at Santa Anita, and Vazquez was familiar with him, riding him for the second time following the Los Alamitos Futurity.
“He’s the kind of horse you can do whatever you want with him, go inside, outside, he lets me do my job,” Vazquez said. “He’s getting better every race.”
Practical Move took dirt racing inside, and always appeared to be traveling well, saving ground less than three lengths behind Hejazi, who set fractions of 47.12 and 1:11.08 before he drifted out turning for home. That allowed Practical Move and Vazquez to cut the corner. The colt did the rest, and drew away.
A son of Practical Joke, owned by Albuquerque, N.M., residents Jean-Pierre and Leslie Amestoy, Practical Joke will have one more start before the Kentucky Derby. He earned 50 points winning the San Felipe, and is virtually assured a Kentucky Derby berth.
Yakteen did not commit to his next start, only saying, “I think he’ll have one more start before the Derby.
Geaux Rocket Ride ran well in his first route, and trainer Richard Mandella said he would aim to the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 8 if all goes well in the interim.
“For the second [start], to do that, it was a helluva race,” Mandella said.
Skinner also ran well, rallying from last under Victor Espinoza.
“I thought he ran an excellent race,” Espinoza said, acknowledging he would have preferred to be closer to the lead.”
Trainer John Shirreffs is likely to bring Skinner back in the Santa Anita Derby.
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