Baffert also trains the 1-2 finishers in the $200,500, Grade 2 Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes at Nysos and Nevada Beach, as well as Usha, the winner of the $302,500, Grade 1 La Brea Stakes presented by Don Julio for 3-year-old fillies. The Hall of Famer missed completing the trifecta in the Malibu by one slot, as the California-bred Speedy Wilson defeated the Baffert-trained Madaket Road for third place. Opening day at Santa Anita featured a total of six different stakes and was postponed two days from the traditional opening on December 26 due to heavy rain in the region during Christmas week.
Goal Oriented, a Not This Time colt from the partnership known as ‘the Avengers’, started from the outside gate in the Malibu and had to pass most of the field from the start of the turn. He finished the stretch firmly on the outside under Flavien Prat and won by a length from his stablemate, covering seven furlongs in 1:20.97 on a fast track. Madaket Road set the early pace and just missed completing the trifecta.
Baffert achieved his all-year goal of capturing a Grade 1 victory for Goal Oriented – who previously finished third in both the NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes and the Pennsylvania Derby at that level – but said the build-up to the actual race was grueling.
Baffert had five of the original 10 entries – the five morning line favorites – in the Malibu, including the oddsmaker’s No. 1 selection, Barnes, who won the Perryville Stakes at Keeneland on October 18 by 8 ¼ lengths. He was an early scratch.
That left Cornucopian, a colt by Into Mischief making his first start since April, the favorite as the field entered Santa Anita’s saddle enclosure. There Cornucopian reared and landed awkwardly. He wasn’t injured, but was an automatic scratch as a rule.
“It was just a whirlwind. Cornucopia, he was saddling up and he stood up a little bit. He lost his balance and sat down like a dog. He was fine, but as soon as they do that, it’s automatic scratching here and I understand that,” Baffert said.
That left Baffert with Madaket Road, Midland Money and Goal Oriented, which was then bet at the favored odds of 1.10-1.
“It was just stupid. But it happened,” Baffert said. “So there was a lot of pressure on those other guys. We lost Barnes, had to scratch. But ‘Goal’, we know he’s a good horse. And ‘Madaket’ looked like he would last a while. And my other horse ran really big.”
“I’m just happy that it worked out, that we won it, because it was so upsetting there for a while. We won the Malibu, which is so important.”
A highly anticipated showdown between Baffert stablemates Nysos and Nevada Beach highlighted the five other graduated stakes held on Santa Anita’s opening Sunday, and their long run in the 1 1/16-mile Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes did not disappoint. Nysos, making his first start since a nose win over another stablemate, Citizen Bull, in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, dug deep to beat a Nevada Beach race and end his four-year-old season with a feature win as the heavy 1-5 favorite.
Of the other four races, the Baffert-trained Nash dominated a solid field in the seven-furlong La Brea, winning by 5 ¼ lengths under Juan Hernandez. In the $303,000 Grade 1 American Oaks presented by Cygames for 3-year-old fillies on turf, the Augustin Stable homebred Ambaya finished top in the mile-and-a-quarter test, posting the 12.70-1 for trainer Jonathan Thomas. That was Thomas’ second victory on the card in a turf event, following Hiding’s late win in Honduras at odds of 9.70-1 in the $200,500, Grade 2 Mathis Mile Stakes. And in the $103,000, Grade 3 San Gabriel Stakes, held at 1 1/8 miles on grass, 6-year veteran Cabo Sprit led the field from start to finish in an impressive 1 ¼ length victory under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith.
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