ARCADIA, Calif. – Newgrange gave trainer Bob Baffert his third consecutive win in the Grade 3 Sham Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita, and the trainer’s sixth win in the last 10 years in the early season one-mile test for 3-year-olds.

Newgrange joins outstanding company as a winner of the Sham trained by Baffert, who has claimed the exacta in the race the last three years.

Grade 3, $100,000 Sham Stakes, Santa Anita, Jan. 1, 2022
(0 Derby qualifying points for first, 0 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)

Winner: Newgrange, by Violence
Trainer: Bob Baffert
Jockey: John Velazquez
Owner: Golconda Stable, Madaket Stables, SF Racing, Siena Farm, Starlight Racing, Stonestreet Stables, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, Robert Masterson, and Jay Schoenfarber
Beyer Speed Figure: 88

Listed, $150,000 Jerome Stakes, Aqueduct, Jan. 1, 2022
(10 Derby qualifying points for first, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)

Winner: Courvoisier, by Tapit
Trainer: Kelly Breen
Jockey: Jose Ortiz
Owner: Hill ’n’ Dale Equine Holdings and James Spry
Beyer Speed Figure: 73

ARCADIA, Calif. – Newgrange took advantage of ideal conditions in the Grade 3, $100,000 Sham Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita and strolled to a 2 3/4-length victory, scoring in front-running fashion in a Kentucky Derby prep void of pace other than his stablemate.

That stablemate, 3-2 favorite Rockefeller, set up shop just behind and outside Newgrange early, as the two Bob Baffert trainees led their rivals through dawdling fractions of 24.46 seconds for the opening quarter and 48.94 seconds for the half in the one-mile race.

Dash Attack’s stock is rising quickly.

He picked up 10 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, when he swept through the lane for a two-length victory over Barber Road in the $250,000 Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park.

It was another length back in third to Ignitis, who edged Kavod by a nose. The second- through fourth-place finishers also earned Kentucky Derby points on a scale of 4-2-1.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Simplification made amends and then some for his third as the 1-5 favorite in his 2-year-old finale, kicking off his 3-year-old season with a convincing four-length victory over 4-5 favorite Strike Hard in Saturday’s $150,000 Mucho Macho Man at Gulfstream Park. The one-mile Mucho Macho Man was the richest of five stakes on the card, all for 3-year-olds.

Courvoisier certainly has a pedigree to get one excited. Saturday, at soggy and foggy Aqueduct, Courvoisier gave his connections a performance to perhaps start getting excited about as well.

Courvoisier, under Jose Ortiz, overtook the pace-setting Hagler just above the eighth pole and persevered to the wire to win Saturday’s $150,000 Jerome Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths over a late-running Smarten Up. It was another three-quarters of a length back to Cooke Creek, the 7-5 favorite, in third.

Erik Johnson has his eyes on the prizes these days.

His regular job as defenseman for the Colorado Avalanche finds him pursuing a Stanley Cup. His other job, fully invested horse owner, could have him headed down the Kentucky Derby trail if Mackinnon, named for a teammate, center Nathan MacKinnon, can transfer his sharp turf form to dirt Saturday at Santa Anita in the Grade 3, $100,000 Sham Stakes.

The one-mile Sham, for 3-year-olds, offers 17 points overall and 10 to the winner toward a berth in the May 7 Derby. It is race 7 of 10.

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – While the Jerome Stakes hasn’t had a history of producing top Kentucky Derby prospects, three of the race’s last four winners – Firenze Fire, Mind Control and Independence Hall – did go on to become multiple graded stakes winners.

Saturday’s 152nd Jerome at Aqueduct drew a field of eight 3-year-olds, some with the pedigree and talent to suggest they could join that list. Whether they turn out to be Kentucky Derby contenders is something that likely won’t be known until later on.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla – Seven 3-year-olds will take their first step on the road to the $1 million Florida Derby on April 2, Gulfstream Park’s marquee event, when they square off at a mile in Saturday’s $150,000 Mucho Macho Man Stakes.

The Mucho Macho Man is the last of five stakes on Saturday’s card, all for 3-year-olds, and the first of three major 3-year-old preps here prior to the Florida Derby. The others are the Grade 2 Holy Bull (Feb. 5) and Grade 2 Fountain of Youth (March 5).