ARCADIA, Calif. – From the first Saturday of each winter month at Santa Anita to the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs, the search is on to find a 3-year-old with the right stuff.
For those still light on seasoning, such as Barnes and Bullard, the 2025 trail begins Saturday in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes. Others are more established and on standby, including Breeders’ Cup Juvenile one-two Citizen Bull and Gaming, and Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity winner Journalism.
January is still early, and a lot will change.
“Right now, we just want get some outs in these horses,” trainer Bob Baffert said, referring to his lightly raced prospects. “The second out is very important. Are they going to improve? Are they going to stay there? Are they going to regress?”
Find out Saturday, when Baffert debut winners Barnes and Romanesque, as well as debut runner-up Rodriguez, all make their second start. Barnes and Romanesque go seven furlongs in the San Vicente; Rodriguez runs one mile in a maiden race against well-bred Baeza.
For now, Citizen Bull and Gaming are Baffert’s most accomplished 3-year-olds. Citizen Bull is working regularly; his path to the spring classics is pending. Gaming, who won the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity before his BC Juvenile second and Los Alamitos Futurity third, is penciled in for the Grade 3, $1 million Southwest Stakes on Jan. 25 at Oaklawn Park, according to Baffert.
The 3-year-olds that stay home will run in stakes on Saturdays. The four-race winter series for dirt 3-year-olds begins with the San Vicente, followed by route stakes at increasingly longer distances. They are the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis at a mile on Feb. 1, Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on March 1, and Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles on April 5.
Baffert is likely to have starters in every 3-year-old stakes. His stable also includes graded sprint winner Getaway Car, maiden winner Madaket Road, debut third San Saba, and several promising unraced colts working regularly, including Cornucopian, Varney, Southern Gentleman, and a $4 million Curlin-Beholder colt who Baffert said “is a long way off. He doesn’t have a name yet.”
:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2025: Point standings, prep schedule, news, and more
Not every Derby prospect in California is trained by Baffert. Michael McCarthy enters winter with a pair near the top. Two-for-two Bullard won the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes and will run Saturday in the San Vicente. McCarthy also has Journalism, who is likely to make his 3-year-old debut next month in the Robert B. Lewis.
The first maiden race of the meet for 3-year-olds of 2025 was Dec. 26, won by Baffert’s second-time starter Madaket Road. Runner-up to Bullard first time out, the colt added blinkers, did not break sharply from the rail, and got stuck behind rivals. Juan Hernandez stayed cool, and Madaket Road likewise. The result was a maiden win with an 86 Beyer Speed Figure to emerge on the list of winter prospects.
Baffert debuted San Saba in the same race; he dueled and finished third. Baffert said San Saba “needed the race. There’s a big difference when you haven’t run. And they were going pretty fast.” San Saba, by Justify, is sure to improve second time out.
While a decision is pending on Citizen Bull’s comeback, Gaming will seek redemption at Oaklawn after a flat third at odds-on in the Los Alamitos Futurity. Gaming had an excuse.
“In the paddock, he lost it,” Baffert said. “He just got all antsy, he got hot in there. [Flavien] Prat said he was not comfortable on the inside [in the race]. I think you draw a line through it. He’ll be all right.”
In the Southwest, Gaming would try to add to Baffert’s 6-for-10 record in that race.
Getaway Car, runner-up in the Los Alamitos Futurity, might want shorter. Winner of the Grade 3 Best Pal, a summer sprint, Getaway Car lost ground late in all three routes.
“He shows up every time,” Baffert said, adding that 1 1/16 miles was “just a little bit too far for him.”
Mark Glatt trains Father Ted, opening-day debut runner-up to Madaket Road. Father Ted, by Practical Joke, wants farther than six furlongs.
“I thought it was going to be a little too short for him,” Glatt said. “Then when he kind of straightened and kicked in. It was pretty impressive.”
:: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports
Father Ted finished a half-length behind Madaket Road and may sprint once more before he stretches out. Glatt is bullish on Father Ted.
“I think he could develop into anything,” he said.
Glatt also trains highly regarded Professor George, a Vekoma colt who will debut later this meet.
Rodriguez, by Authentic, makes his second start Saturday in race 2, a maiden mile. Runner-up first out, Rodriguez is the speed of the field and should be favored against well-bred, well-regarded second-time starter Baeza. Sired by McKinzie and a sibling to Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Belmont winner Dornoch, Baeza finished ninth in his Dec. 1 debut at Del Mar.
“I was hoping he’d do a little bit better,” Baeza’s trainer, John Shirreffs, admitted. “But it was his first race, it was on turf, and he’s a dirt horse.”
Shirreffs mainly wanted to get a race into Baeza before the Del Mar autumn meet ended.
“Sometimes you just race a horse because you want to see if there’s some sort of correction you might want to make for their next race as a maiden,” he said.
Sure enough, Baeza will add blinkers Saturday. Shirreffs said Baeza “was looking around [first out], and he does that a lot in the morning, too. But for his first start, I wasn’t gonna take it to the max.”
:: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets.
Baeza has been wearing blinkers for recent works and gallops, and is more focused, according to Shirreffs. But he will have his work cut out to catch Rodriguez in race 2 on Saturday.
Other 3-year-olds are under the radar, particularly those on turf. Jonathan Thomas trains Geometry, a maiden turf winner who will resume works this month. It is uncertain if the colt, by Twirling Candy, will be as effective on dirt.
“He has good-horse attributes, he’s a beautifully made horse,” Thomas said, adding that jockey Frankie Dettori said to Thomas after the maiden win: “Make sure I get to ride him back.”
Iron Man Cal finished second in the BC Juvenile Turf for trainer Phil D’Amato.
“I’ve always trained him on the main track. We’ll see if it’s something we want to entertain or not,” D’Amato said. Iron Man Cal recently returned to Santa Anita after a post-Breeders’ Cup freshening.
Charlie’s to Blame scored a decisive maiden turf win Dec. 1 at Del Mar in his first try around two turns. Trainer Peter Eurton may ship Charlie’s to Blame to Fair Grounds for the Grade 3 Lecomte on Jan. 18.
“Looking for a dirt race, a 3-year-old race, to give us an idea if he can do as well on dirt,” Eurton said. “If he doesn’t like [dirt], I can do an audible into the synthetic race,” Eurton said, referring to Turfway Park stakes that include the John Battaglia Memorial on Feb. 22 and Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks on March 22.
Other 3-year-olds working regularly but unexposed are Richard Mandella-trained The Last Straw and Tamino, and John Sadler-trained Unique Power and Cajun Gold. Those four entered Santa Anita races this weekend. Doug O’Neill-trained Dr. Ruben M and Shirreffs-trained Shofner also are prospects.
:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.