Santa Anita: Baffert impressed with Midnight Hawk after Sham Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. – Midnight Hawk, who won the Grade 3 Sham Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, impressed his trainer, Bob Baffert, by stretching out successfully around two turns to remain unbeaten in two starts.

“They went fast, and he still stayed in there,” Baffert said Sunday. “I was hoping he’d run like that, but, going two turns for the first time, you never know. He’s still a little green. It’s exciting. There’s a long way to go, but I like what I saw.”

Midnight Hawk battled with Kristo through fractions of 23.31 seconds, 46.33, and 1:10.50 before asserting his superiority and pulling away late to win by 1 3/4 lengths in 1:36.48 for one mile on the fast main track.

Baffert has yet to make concrete plans for Midnight Hawk. Much will depend on how he needs to spot the other 3-year-old prospects in his barn on the road to the May 3 Kentucky Derby.

Midnight Hawk is owned in part by Joel Quenneville, the coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, and Mike Kitchen, one of Quenneville’s assistant coaches. The prospect of having a top Derby contender “has these guys so excited,” said John Sikura, one of the owners of Midnight Hawk, who is as big a hockey fan as Quenneville and Kitchen are racing fans.

“They love the sport and respect the game, so it’s a perfect fantasy,” Sikura said. “I played a lot of hockey but wasn’t good enough. I get to take my kid to their practices. It’s fun to fulfill each other’s fantasies.”

Mike Tice, recently hired as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Falcons, also is a co-owner of Midnight Hawk.

Midnight Hawk, bred and co-owned by Mike Pegram, was raised on Sikura’s Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Kentucky.

“I feel good that we raised a good horse for Mike,” Sikura said. “He put the heat on me. He wanted to put these guys in a horse, and I had to pick one out. It’s great to give an opportunity like this to these guys.”