'Bling Too Much in San Miguel

Stonerside Stable and Blazing Meadows Farm's TOO MUCH BLING (Rubiano)

swept four-wide turning for home and quickly powered clear to an emphatic four-length tally in the

$81,200 San Miguel S. at Santa Anita on Sunday. Trained by

Bob Baffert, Too Much Bling rated just off the pace while wide from his outside

post before putting in his lethal burst, finishing up the six furlongs in a

rapid 1:08 2/5 beneath Garrett Gomez. Sent to post as the 5-2 betting favorite,

the sophomore colt returned $7.60, $4.80 and $3.60 while topping the $15.10

exacta, $420.30 trifecta and $2,562.40 superfecta (11-6-10-8), all for $1 increments.

Cause to Believe (Maria's Mon) rallied from last to gain a very credible

second, 1 1/2 lengths ahead of third. The 9-2 shot paid $5 and $3.60 for the

place. Bound To Be M V P (Snowbound) stayed on for the show while being up with

the leaders throughout, good for $10.20 at 27-1. Peace Chant (War Chant)

concluded the superfecta at 7-2 and was followed by Dinner Magic (Formal Dinner), The

Pharaoh (Forest Camp), Bengal Lore (Tale of the Cat), One Union (Dixie Union),

Short Circuit (Lemon Drop Kid), Cousins Lew (Slew Gin Fizz) and

Corazondelcampeon (Comic Strip).

"The fractions were really quick," Gomez said. "I had an outside post, which

was to my advantage. I was never worried about him finishing too much because of

the way he worked the other morning (four furlongs in a bullet :46 3/5 on

December 29). I felt like if I rode him like I worked him, I was in good shape."

"There weren't any First Samurais (Giant's Causeway) or Henny Hugheses

(Hennessy) in there," Baffert said, referring to the top two finishers in the

Hopeful S. (G1) and Champagne S. (G1), in which Too Much Bling finished third

and fifth, respectively, "but he's a better horse now (since coming back from

New York). We had to get him back here and put the air back into his body. He

was pretty light," the trainer added.

Too Much Bling moved his mark to 6-2-0-2 with a bankroll of $102,674. The

gray broke his maiden by an impressive 19 1/2 lengths at Thistledown before

taking on Grade 1 company in New York. In his previous start, he finished sixth

in the Nashua S. (G3) at Belmont Park.

The winner was bred in Ohio by Destiny Farm and was produced from the

stakes-winning Rose Colored Lady (Formal Dinner). He was preceded in stakes

glory by his half-sister Barnsy (Langfuhr) and half-brother Ready For Roses

(More Than Ready), and has a pair of unnamed half-siblings, a two-year-old filly

by Carson City and a yearling filly by Langfuhr.