Santa Anita: Summer Exclusive eyes Bay Shore Stakes instead of Santa Anita Derby

The maiden race winner Summer Exclusive will skip the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on April 6 in favor of the $250,000 Bay Shore Stakes over seven furlongs for 3-year-olds on the same day at Aqueduct.

Summer Exclusive worked seven furlongs in 1:26 at Hollywood Park on Monday, but trainer Peter Miller said he was not pleased with the way the colt finished. Miller timed the workout in 1:25.40.

“He didn’t relax and didn’t finish as I’d liked for him to,” Miller said. “We’ll stick to one turn now and stretch him out later.”

Owned by a partnership, Summer Exclusive, by Exclusive Quality, won his debut in a maiden race over 6 1/2 furlongs March 2.

The Santa Anita Derby field is led by Hear the Ghost and Flashback, the first two finishers of the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes on March 9.

[ROAD TO THE KENTUCKY DERBY: Prep races, point standings, replays]

Flashback won the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Feb. 2 in his stakes debut and is the likely favorite in the Santa Anita Derby, which is run over 1 1/8 miles.

On Monday, Flashback worked six furlongs in 1:11.80 at Santa Anita, the fastest of 15 recorded works at the distance. Flashback is owned by Gary and Mary West and trained by Bob Baffert.

On Tuesday, Baffert said he might start the Wests’ Power Broker in the Santa Anita Derby. The winner of the Grade 1 FrontRunner Stakes last September, Power Broker has not started since finishing fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile here in November.

On Monday, Power Broker worked six furlongs from the gate in 1:12, continuing a consistent pattern of workouts that began in mid-February.

Baffert also is planning to start Super Ninety Nine, who was fifth in the Grade 2 Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park on March 16.

Other Santa Anita Derby candidates include Tiz a Minister and Goldencents, who were third and fourth in the San Felipe, and Storm Fighter, the winner of a maiden race over 1 1/16 miles for California-breds on March 2.