Taishan brings experience edge to Sham

ARCADIA, Calif. – It is only January and the big races in spring are a long ways off, so what do you do with a talented but inexperienced 3-year-old at the start of the year?

Simple.

“Get some races into them,” Bob Baffert said. “Gotta get races into them.”

Baffert-trained debut winners Authentic and Azul Coast will gain valuable seasoning Saturday in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita. The colts make their second start while facing the impressive maiden winner Taishan, trained by Richard Baltas.

Taishan enters the one-mile Sham, race 5, with an experience edge over his main rivals. It has been two months since Taishan won a maiden route at Santa Anita in the second start of his career, and Baltas raved this week at the colt’s condition.

“He’s a very intelligent horse, and he works dynamite,” Baltas said. “He’s a horse that just acts like a good horse. I love him.”

Taishan, Authentic, and Azul Coast are the principals in the six-runner Sham, which lost a key starter. Honor A. P., the pre-race favorite based on a maiden romp, was off in his right front after training Tuesday. He did not enter.

Initial X-rays did not reveal the issue. Honor A. P.’s trainer, John Shirreffs, hopes for a diagnosis next week. Meantime, the Sham field is largely unproven. All six are eligible to the first allowance condition. Zimba Warrior, Uncaptured Hero, and Scoring are the outsiders.

Taishan should be tough to beat. His last-out maiden victory received validation when runner-up Tizamagician returned Wednesday, two starts later, with an 85-Beyer maiden victory. The point is that Taishan defeated a good rival.

Baltas said Taishan reminds him of a previous Twirling Candy colt he trained – Queen’s Plate winner One Bad Boy. Taishan “is a light-bodied horse, a [typical] Twirling Candy,” Baltas said. “Everybody that has been on him has loved him. Aaron [Gryder] has breezed him, he loves him.”

Taishan and Gryder break from the outside post. The colt’s tactical speed and established ability around two turns make him the most probable winner. Baltas also entered maiden sprint winner Uncaptured Hero. Can he run long?

“I don’t know,” Baltas acknowledged. “He looks more compact.”

Authentic is the high-figure starter. He earned an 87 Beyer in his sprint win, a number that may or may not be repeatable. All five rivals that Authentic defeated ran back, all five lost, and the 2-3-4 finishers saw their next-out figure decline 17 to 18 points.

Two turns is another challenge for Authentic. Can he get a mile? Both Baffert and Drayden Van Dyke, who rides Authentic on Saturday, think so.

“He acts like it,” Baffert said. “He covers a lot of ground. He’s a real leggy horse.”

Azul Coast raced five wide start to finish in his debut, a maiden romp at one mile. Joel Rosario rides the light-framed son of Super Saver, whose debut was better than his 75 Beyer, considering the wide trip.