Santa Anita: Can the Man gets first stakes win in Speakeasy

ARCADIA, Calif. - Without blinkers and racing from an ideal post, Can the Man became a stakes winner in Monday’s $100,000 Speakeasy Stakes for 2-year-old sprinters at Santa Anita.

Breaking from the outside in a field of five, Can the Man ($3.60) closed from third to win by 1 3/4 lengths, finishing six furlongs in 1:09.53.

Hi Fashioned, who set the early pace, finished second, followed by Alpine Luck, Brother Soldier, and Jedi Mind Trick.

The win by Can the Man eased the disappointment of a fourth-place finish in the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes over 1 1/16 miles on Sept. 28, trainer Bob Baffert said.

“He was disappointing in the two-turn race,” Baffert said. “I took the blinkers off. We’re trying to get him to slow down a little bit.”

Ridden by Martin Garcia, Can the Man was third for the first quarter-mile, racing wide and stalking Hi Fashioned, who set early fractions of 21.69 and 44.50 seconds. Can the Man advanced to second on the turn, and took the lead in early stretch. He led by a half-length with a furlong remaining and was not threatened late.

Owned by Kaleem Shah, Can the Man has won 2 of 4 starts and earned $156,000. Purchased for $320,000 at the Barretts May sale of select 2-year-olds earlier this year, Can the Man won his debut at Del Mar on Aug. 17 and was third in the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante over seven furlongs on Sept. 4.

Baffert said after Monday’s race that Can the Man could run two turns in his next start, but did not mention the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 4 as a possibility.