'
Litmus test gives Baffert 15th Futurity victory
Horse Racing

Litmus test gives Baffert 15th Futurity victory

author
4 minutes, 0 seconds Read

As the only horse in the December 13 Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) field with graded stakes experience, Litmus test performed exactly as expected. His victory by 1 1/4 lengths was also not surprising, as his trainer, Bob Baffert, had already won the Futurity fourteen times – six of them at the race’s original home of Hollywood Park.

Litmus test, Blacksmith And Origin gave Baffert a 1-2-3 finish in this year’s edition of the Los Alamitos Race Track event.

Bettors backed the three Baffert runners over the other three in the field, sending Litmus Test off as 3-5 favorites. Blacksmith, a maiden after two appearances, went 4-1 as second choice, while Provenance, who broke his first in his second start, was 6-1.

Provenance took an early lead in the 1 1/16-mile Futurity, running fractions of :23.26, :46.67 and 1:10.43. Recognizemeplz Bore out in the first turn and floated to Blacksmith and Longshot American king .

Jockey Juan Hernandez put Litmus Test in second behind Provenance, the favorite ready to pounce whenever Hernandez asked him to.

Sign up for

“He broke a step slow,” Hernandez said. “But he relaxed nicely and we were able to save ground in the first corner.”

Hernandez asked the litmus test in the second turn. The colt moved willingly past Provenance and fought with his stablemate for a few paces before passing him. Litmus Test also managed to stay ahead of the closing Blacksmith, who finished second by 3 1/2 lengths over Provenance. The litmus test covered the distance in 1:42.38.

“He looked around a little bit down the stretch,” Hernandez said of the winner. “But once he switched leads, he finished strong.”

De zwaar begunstigde Litmus Test en jockey Juan Hernandez winnen de Grade II $ 200.000 Los Alamitos Futurity op zaterdag 13 december 2025 op de Los Alamitos Race Course, Cypress, CA, wat trainer Bob Baffert zijn negende overwinning in de race oplevert. Baffert's twee andere starters in de race, Blacksmith en Provenance, eindigden respectievelijk als tweede en derde, wat de schuur een trifecta opleverde. <br /> Benoit photo” src=”https://cms-images.bloodhorse.com/i/bloodhorse-images/2025/12/09fcbf03171b476780669c4801b56ae6.jpg?preset=medium” style=”border-width: 0px;” title=”The heavily favored Litmus Test and jockey Juan Hernandez win the Grade II $ 200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity on Saturday, December 13, 2025 at Los Alamitos Race Course, Cypress, CA, giving trainer Bob Baffert his ninth win of the race. Baffert’s two other starters in the race, Blacksmith and Provenance, finished second and third respectively, giving the Barn a trifecta. <br /> Benoit photo”/><figcaption><small>Photo: Benoit Photo</small></p><p>Winning jockey Juan Hernandez and trainer Bob Baffert</p></figcaption></figure><p>Baffert trains Litmus Test for the partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Certain Stables, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital and Catherine Donovan. SF Racing, Starlight and Madaket purchased Litmus Test for $875,000 during Fasig-Tipton’s The Saratoga Sale in 2024.</p><p>Not only had none of Litmus Test’s rivals ever attempted a stakes match before, Litmus Test was also coming off the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), in which he finished fourth behind the winner. <span class=Ted Noffey . Before that, Litmus Test broke his first-place finish in his debut before finishing fourth in the Del Mar Futurity (G1) and third in the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland.

Baffert liked what he saw from the Litmus Test, saying, “He was in a good spot – he looked like he was relaxed. You could see from the back that he was in control of the race. He’s still a little green, but Juan just told me that the further the better for him. He loved this track – he got over it really well and just kept going.”

The Futurity is part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Litmus Test earned 10 qualifying points with the win for a total of 19; he is second in the rankings behind Ted Noffey.

The Futurity’s second- through fifth-place players earned points on a 5-3-2-1 scale for the 2026 Kentucky Derby (G1).

De zwaar begunstigde Litmus Test en jockey Juan Hernandez winnen de Grade II $ 200.000 Los Alamitos Futurity op zaterdag 13 december 2025 op de Los Alamitos Race Course, Cypress, CA, wat trainer Bob Baffert zijn negende overwinning in de race oplevert. Baffert's twee andere starters in de race, Blacksmith en Provenance, eindigden respectievelijk als tweede en derde, wat de schuur een trifecta opleverde. <br /> Benoit photo” src=”https://cms-images.bloodhorse.com/i/bloodhorse-images/2025/12/be4d58bbc09b4bbd9ea81f51c01f4f88.jpg?preset=medium” style=”border-width: 0px;” title=”The heavily favored Litmus Test and jockey Juan Hernandez win the Grade II $ 200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity on Saturday, December 13, 2025 at Los Alamitos Race Course, Cypress, CA, giving trainer Bob Baffert his ninth win of the race. Baffert’s two other starters in the race, Blacksmith and Provenance, finished second and third respectively, giving the Barn a trifecta. <br /> Benoit photo”/><figcaption><small>Photo: Benoit Photo</small></p><p>Litmus Test leads home a Bob Baffert trifecta in the Los Alamitos Futurity at Los Alamitos Race Course</p></figcaption></figure><p>Machmer Hall bred Litmus Test in Kentucky and sent him to the Saratoga sale. The foal is out of the <span horsefoalingyear=Mort MM mare Study hard which cost Machmer Hall $100,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Study Hard made just three starts for Machmer Hall’s Carrie Brogden, but the mare is a full sister to multi-rated winner Sweet August Moon . A yearling filly from Study Hard by Spinning candy sold for $300,000 at this year’s Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearling Sale.

The litmus test is over Nyquist the 10 other winners of the 2025 rankings include Baffert training Nysos (winner of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, G1), Knights And Tenma . Nyquist, the 2015 champion 2-year-old male, will be eligible for a $175,000 stud fee in 2026 at Darley near Lexington.

Video: Los Alamitos Future (G2)

#Litmus #test #Baffert #15th #Futurity #victory

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *