ARCADIA, Calif. – Barnes is starting to show why he cost $3.2 million as a yearling. Saturday at Santa Anita, the lightly raced 3-year-old colt validated his reputation as an early division leader.
Barnes, the even-money favorite, trounced the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes by 5 1/2 lengths to give trainer Bob Baffert his 14th victory in the stakes. His stablemate Romanesque finished second, giving Baffert his fourth one-two finish in the San Vicente in the last five years.
The Michael McCarthy-trained late-runner Bullard, 1.10-1 second choice in the seven-furlong San Vicente after winning his first two starts including the Grade 3 Bob Hope Stakes at Del Mar, finished a half-length back in third. Smooth Cruisein and pacesetter McKinzie Street finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
Although the winter meet at Santa Anita is young, Baffert’s Kentucky Derby prospects are hitting on all gears. Baffert won the first maiden race of the meet with Madaket Road, and second-time starter Rodriguez crushed a one-mile maiden race earlier on Saturday's card.
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Barnes, Madaket Road, and Rodriguez were all making just their second career start, while the most accomplished 3-year-old trained by Baffert is gearing up for his first start of the season. Citizen Bull, two-time Grade 1 winner including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and likely Eclipse Award winner as champion 2-year-old male, worked a five furlongs in a bullet 59.20 seconds Friday.
“I’m looking at the Bob Lewis on Feb. 1 if all goes well,” Baffert said referring to Citizen Bull. The one-mile Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis will include Journalism, the McCarthy-trained winner of the Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity.
Barnes, who overcame greenness and a compromising trip to win his debut Nov. 27 at Churchill Downs, had a better trip Saturday at Santa Anita. Barnes showed speed outside McKinzie Street, headed that rival on the turn, and drew off in 1:22.15 over a track that produced fast times.
Baffert said jockey Juan Hernandez’s familiarity with Barnes was a benefit. “Juan got to work him, so he knows the horse pretty well,” Baffert said. “So he rode him with a lot of confidence.”
Hernandez told Baffert after the race that Barnes was still “a little green.” No problem for a horse with his acceleration. “All the riders that worked him say he has gears,” Baffert said.
Purchased as a yearling by Amr Zedan, Barnes is an Into Mischief colt named for Baffert’s longtime assistant Jimmy Barnes. Baffert said Barnes the horse reminds him of a Triple Crown winner.
“He looks like American Pharoah; body-wise he’s got a lot of American Pharoah in him” Baffert said. “I’m happy for [Zedan], but he had to really stretch to get this horse.” Barnes himself is expected to stretch to a route for his third start, which is to be determined.
Earlier Saturday, Baffert added another 3-year-old colt to his arsenal. Rodriquez, stretching out to one mile, crushed maidens by seven lengths in a fast 1:35.91 to emerge as an early candidate for the Santa Anita Derby and Kentucky Derby.
Rodriguez, who finished second in his debut sprint, crushed the dirt mile in front-running fashion. Hernandez rode the colt, who set fractions of 46.33 and 1:10.27 before winning by seven lengths over Baeza.
“That’s a good colt,” Baffert said, referring to Rodriguez and emphasizing the importance of an early-season win going two turns. “It’s huge right now, we just want to get races in them.”
Rodriguez ($3) is by Authentic; the odds-on maiden win by the second-start colt was no surprise. Baffert said Rodriguez “worked with Barnes [on Dec. 29]; he was in Barnes’s face the whole way.” Baffert believes progeny of the 2020 Kentucky Derby winner Authentic will be late-bloomers.
“Authentics, they’re going to be late because he was late,” Baffert said. “They had the Derby in September (in 2020), which was awesome.” Saturday’s maiden win by Rodriguez came exactly five years after Authentic won the Grade 3 Sham Stakes at Santa Anita. Authentic later won the Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic. The 2025 crop of 3-year-olds is the first sired by Authentic.
Though he was no match for Rodriguez, second-time starter Baeza improved adding blinkers and switching to dirt. Sired by McKinzie, Baeza is a sibling to Kentucky Derby winner Mage and Belmont Stakes winner Dornoch. He is trained by John Shirreffs. Baeza finished a half-length in front of third-placed Rank.
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