Secret Circle headed to Golden Shaheen

ARCADIA, Calif. – Secret Circle is going to Dubai, but Hoppertunity is not, trainer Bob Baffert said Sunday morning at Santa Anita.

Secret Circle is bound for the $2 million Golden Shaheen in Dubai, Baffert said after Secret Circle worked six furlongs in 1:12.60 in company Sunday morning at Santa Anita.

Secret Circle finished second in the Palos Verdes Handicap in January in his last start. His biggest win to date came in the 2013 Breeders’ Cup Sprint. He was second in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Sprint.

Based on the prospective field for the Golden Shaheen, Secret Circle should be favored.

Hoppertunity was third behind Shared Belief and California Chrome in last month’s San Antonio, but he bypassed the Santa Anita Handicap on Saturday and now will not ship to Dubai for the $10 million World Cup, in which California Chrome is the ante-post favorite. Baffert said Hoppertunity would instead remain stateside, get a brief freshening, and not race again until May.

“I'm trying to save horses like him and Bayern for the summer and fall, the championship season,” Baffert said.

Bayern, who has not raced since the Breeders’ Cup Classic, galloped Sunday morning. He has not worked since Feb. 21, when he went a half-mile in 50 seconds.