Santa Anita: Bayern in 'holding pattern' with foot bruise

ARCADIA, Calif. – The 3-year-olds Bayern and Bond Holder, absent from major stakes Saturday because of foot ailments, had quiet days on Friday on opposite sides of the country.

Bayern was withdrawn from Saturday’s $300,000 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita because of foot bruise detected Thursday. He stayed in trainer Bob Baffert’s barn at Santa Anita on Friday.

“He won’t go to the track for a few days,” Baffert said. “He’s in a holding pattern.”

Owned by Kaleem Shah, Bayern was expected to make his stakes debut in the San Felipe, having won a maiden race in January and an allowance race by 15 lengths on Feb. 13 in his first two starts.

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Bond Holder was a projected starter in Saturday’s $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby until he was sidelined by an abscess in a foot, trainer Doug O’Neill said. The Tampa Bay Derby was the second race Bold Holder has passed in recent weeks. He was considered a candidate for the $400,000 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds on Feb. 22, but did not start after becoming unsettled on a flight from California to Louisiana.

Trainer Doug O’Neill said Friday that Bond Holder has been taken to a clinic in Ocala, Fla., for observation.

“I don’t know if he’ll be at the clinic for a few days or a week,” he said.

O’Neill said Bond Holder was taken to the clinic out of fear the abscess “could go the wrong way.”

“It wasn’t a typical abscess,” he said.

O’Neill said it was unclear how the time off would affect Bond Holder’s racing schedule.

“It’s all speculation at this point,” he said.

Owned by Paul Reddam, Bond Holder has 1 win in 7 starts and earnings of $366,000. He won the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes at Santa Anita last September and was later fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November and the CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park in December.

Bond Holder has not raced this year.

Fashion Plate, Kobe's Back work for stakes

Two leading 3-year-olds worked Friday for upcoming stakes.

Fashion Plate, winner of the Grade 1 Las Virgenes Stakes for fillies in her last start Feb. 1, worked a half-mile in 47.60 seconds. Trained by Simon Callaghan, Fashion Plate is being pointed to the $400,000 Santa Anita Oaks on April 5.

Kobe’s Back, winner of the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes over seven furlongs Feb. 17, worked six furlongs in 1:11, the fastest of nine works at the distance. Trained by John Sadler, Kobe’s Back will make his next start in the $600,000 Rebel Stakes for 3-year-olds at Oaklawn Park next Saturday.

◗ Garen, winner of a maiden race here over 1 1/16 miles on Feb. 16, will make his stakes debut in the $800,000 Sunland Park Derby in New Mexico on March 23, trainer Peter Miller said. Owned by Rockingham Ranch, Garen has one win in three starts. On Feb. 16, he led throughout the maiden race, winning by 2 1/4 lengths.