Opening day at Santa Anita may have been delayed two days due to heavy rain, but it was worth the wait just to watch the Laffit Pincay Jr. tournament in action. Stakes worth $200,000.
And for coach Bob Baffert it was even better. Not only did Nisos and Nevada Beach go 1-2 for him on Sunday in a thrilling Grade 2 Pincay race, but he also won the two Grade 1 races he entered: La Brea with Ears and Malibu with Goal Oriented.
It was the fourth time Baffert has won three stakes on the same day at Santa Anita, including the same three races on opening day in 2022.
He was especially excited after Pincay, and not just from what he saw on the track.
“You know what's great?” Baffert said as he stood in the winner's circle and pointed toward the grandstand, which was filled with a reported 41,962 fans, the largest opening-day crowd since 2016. “It's good to see this place packed. Look, everyone's out. They're coming to see a good horse, and everyone was excited about it. And they saw a great race.
“It was actually fun to watch.”
Especially for Baffert, who knew the field had reached a stage he couldn't lose. Nisos, the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile champion ridden by Flavien Prat, was inside Nevada Beach, the Goodwood Stakes winner ridden by Juan Hernandez.
Nisos was a clear 1-5 favorite, having lost only one of his seven lifetime races, but at least for a moment it looked like he might not get past Nevada Beach, being 3 years younger than his stablemate.
But in a virtual repeat of the Dirty Mile, when Prat and Nisos passed Hernandez and another Baffert 3-year-old, Citizen Bull, the older horse gained the upper hand again, again by a head.
“I was close,” Hernandez said. “My horse was running really well. I'd be ahead in the stretch for a couple of jumps and then switch paths between Nisos and my horse… He gave me everything he had.”
The 2nd Grade Pincay (formerly San Antonio) was one of six stakes races on opening day, which is traditionally run the day after Christmas. It wasn't one of the three Grade 1 races, but Nisos' presence made it feel like the main event of the day.
Nisos returned $2.40 by running the 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.36, the fastest since Pincay was moved to that distance in 2017.
Ahead of the race, Baffert said Nisos would likely start next in the $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 14 in Riyadh, while Nevada Beach was more likely to go to the $3 million Pegasus World Cup next month at Gulfstream Park. After Pinkey, he did not rule out that both would be sent to Saudi Arabia.
The only downside to Baffert's betting day was having to eliminate Barnes and Cornucopia, the two morning line favorites, from Malibu. Barnes suffered a “minor setback” on Saturday, while Cornucopian had an incident in the paddock minutes before the race that forced him to withdraw (he was not injured).
However, it doesn't matter; Goal Oriented ($4.20) overcame favoritism to earn his first stakes win by defeating stablemate Midland Money in 1:20.97, the fastest in Malibu since 2016.
“I'm just glad we won because it was a little frustrating,” Baffert said.
Usha ($13.20) made her first start in a Grade 1 race but won La Brea as a filly with more wins to come. She finished seven rapid furlongs in 1:21.68 and beat favorite Formula Rossa 2-1 by 5¼ lengths.
The first of six stakes races was the $200,000 Mathis Mile for 3-year-olds on turf. The Leonard Powell-trained Tempus Volat led the race but was passed in the final yard by Honduras' Heading ($21.40), a 9-1 long shot by Antonio Fresu for Jonathan Thomas. Namaron, the 1-2 favorite ridden by Prat, finished third.
There was no such drama in the second stakes event, the $100,000 San Gabriel, in which Cabo Spirit ($14.80), trained by George Papaprodromou, took the lead shortly after the start under Mike Smith to beat Astronomer by 1¼ lengths. Stay Hot, the 2-1 favorite, was beaten by third-place Mondego Photo.
The final race of the day was another Grade 1 event, the $300,000 American Oaks, which was won by another Thomas trainee, Ambaya, with a long shot of 12-1. The daughter of Ghostzapper was ridden by Kazushi Kimura, who picked up the mount when Fresu injured his ankle earlier in the day.
Etc.
Two maps that were rained out over the weekend will be drawn up on Monday and Wednesday with free parking and admission. Both days will feature two stakes races; Monday's highlight will be the $200,000 Joe Hernandez, which includes Motorius and Sumter, who were 1-2 in the race last year, as well as Imagination, runner-up in last month's Breeders' Cup Sprint, who will be racing on turf for the first time.
Rain is forecast for Wednesday and track officials say they will monitor the situation before making a decision on how, if at all, racing will be affected. The schedule calls for racing Thursday through Sunday before Santa Anita begins its regular schedule Friday through Sunday, Jan. 9.
