'Freak of nature' E Z Warrior remains perfect in San Miguel

Making his first start since Independence Day, Zayat Stables' unbeaten

sophomore E Z WARRIOR (Exploit) picked up right where he left off with a facile,

front-running score in Sunday's $80,000

San

Miguel S. at Santa Anita. The 1-2 favorite never gave his supporters an

anxious moment en route to a 1 3/4-length tally beneath the top impost of 122

pounds. After regular rider David

Flores hustled him from his rail post, the Bob Baffert colt blazed to a narrow

lead through an opening quarter in :21 3/5, then shrugged off his pursuers while

posting splits of :44 and :56. The dark bay completed six furlongs on the fast

track in 1:08 4/5, extending his record to a perfect three-for-three.

"He's like a freak of nature," Baffert marveled. "This is what you're looking

for when you buy a horse like this," he said, alluding to the colt's $1.2

million purchase price at the 2006 Barretts March two-year-olds in training

sale. "He was coming off a layoff, but we were confident coming in here because

of the way he'd been working."

"He's been working so easy in the mornings," Flores agreed. "I haven't asked

him to do anything, and he's just been cruising. He gives you so much more in

the afternoon. He's going to get better with more distance."

"I knew he'd have to get away from the one hole, but he's an incredibly fast

horse," Baffert said. "When you have a better horse like this, you just put him

in the race and forget about it. David (Flores) knew he was sitting on a big

engine."

The winner returned $3, $2.40 and $2.10 while spearheading the $7.40 exacta

($1)

and $25.30 $1 trifecta (1-3-5). The 13-1 Hurry Up Austin (Lake Austin) closed

resolutely along the inside to finish best of the rest, yielding $6 and $3.40.

Noble Court (Doneraile Court) crossed the wire another three quarters of a

length back in third to provide a $2.80 show payout. Next came Desert Code (E

Dubai), Colonel Chick (West Acre) and the first-time starter, The Ivan Show

(Broken Vow).

Bred in Kentucky by Gulf Coast Farms Bloodstock, E Z Warrior is the first

foal from the multiple stakes-placed Carson Jen (Carson City). She has since

produced a juvenile filly named J Z Warrior (Harlan's Holiday) and a yearling

colt named B Z Warrior (Malibu Moon).

E Z Warrior has now pocketed $135,000. Both of his prior starts came at

Hollywood Park, where he broke his maiden by 1 3/4 lengths going five furlongs

and captured the six-furlong Hollywood Juvenile Championship S. (G3) by 2 3/4

lengths on July 4. The valiant runner-up on that occasion, Great Hunter

(Aptitude), developed into a real force in the division, eventually taking the

Breeders' Futurity (G1) at Keeneland and finishing third in the Breeders' Cup

Juvenile (G1).

With three emphatic sprint scores on his resume, E Z Warrior is likely to set

his sights on a two-turn challenge.

"He's small, but Smarty Jones was small, and he was a freak of nature, too,"

Baffert noted. "We're hoping he can be the next Smarty Jones."