Intrepido surges in American Pharoah; Explora romps in Oak Leaf

Bob Baffert appeared to have Saturday’s $300,500 American Pharoah (G1) at Santa Anita surrounded, but the Jeff Mullins-trained Intrepido flew late to deny him the race named after his 2015 Triple Crown winner. 

The 8.80-1 Intrepido nailed Baffert’s odds-on favorite, Desert Gate, and stablemate Plutarch, who appeared to be fighting out the finish until his last-gasp surge. In addition to picking up a free ticket to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), Intrepido scored 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Baffert bounced right back in the corresponding “Win and You’re In” for the Juvenile Fillies (G1), the $200,500 Oak Leaf (G1), as 2-5 favorite Explora overpowered her foes in a 4 1/4-length romp. She made a statement of intent for the Breeders’ Cup while opening her Kentucky Oaks (G1) account with 10 points.

American Pharoah (G1)

Owned by Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures, Intrepido broke his maiden in front-running fashion, going a mile Aug. 23 at Del Mar. But if he repeated those tactics in the American Pharoah, he would get embroiled with the Baffert posse. The 9-10 Desert Gate and stablemate Kristofferson, the 9-5 second choice, both figured to show speed.

Intrepido had raced off the pace in his July 26 debut, where he finished with interest for fourth behind Baffert’s eventual Del Mar Futurity (G1) star, Brant. Mullins was hoping that the son of Maximus Mischief would revert to that style here.

“Well, we weren’t quite sure what was in his head this time around,” Mullins said. “(In his last start), he broke, took the lead by himself and (jockey) Hector (Berrios) just went with him. Everything worked out fine. 

“But we knew if we went to the lead today, we were going to get into a dogfight, and that was one thing I was trying hard to avoid. I just asked Hector, ‘Do you think this horse can rate?’ He said, ‘No problem.’

Intrepido initially appeared ready to mix it up when breaking well. Berrios wasn’t going to dissuade him until Desert Gate hustled up on the inside, and Kristofferson advanced on the outside. Rather than being sandwiched between them, Berrios eased Intrepido back into a stalking role.

Desert Gate was pressed by Kristofferson through fractions of :22.83, :46.76, and 1:10.97. Just as the favorite put Kristofferson away turning for home, stablemate Plutarch made a bold bid up the rail. Desert Gate must have felt as though he were running the gauntlet as he had to dig deep again. The stamina-laden Plutarch threatened to pull an 8.30-1 upset, only to have a fresh challenge arrive on the scene.

Intrepido worked his way into the clear, took time to wind up, and closed with a rush to win going away by three-quarters of a length. After negotiating 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.67, the bay returned $19.60.

“It was a bit of a complicated race at the start,” Berrios said. “I tried to go to the front, but I saw Juan (Hernandez on favorite Desert Gate) break first, so I settled into second. From the first turn, I had to ease back a little. And again, around 600 meters, I had to hold.

“When I made my move to the outside he responded, although not very strongly at first. But when I asked him again, he responded and produced an impressive change of pace and flew down the final stretch. He’s an amazing horse. I’m very proud of the effort he showed today.”

Desert Gate somehow nipped Plutarch for second in the photo, picking up five points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. This marked his second straight gutsy effort in defeat, following his troubled runner-up result in the Del Mar Futurity.

“I was impressed with Mullins’ horse (Intrepido),” Baffert said. “I thought Desert Gate was home free. He hasn’t figured it out yet.”

Plutarch, a maiden who continues on an upward curve, took home three points in third. There was a 5 3/4-length gap back to Civil Liberty in fourth (two points). Baffert’s longshot Balboa (one point) and Kristofferson concluded the order under the wire.

Intrepido, a $385,000 OBS April juvenile, sports a mark of 3-2-0-0, $232,800. Bred by Sierra Fria Farm in Kentucky, he is out of the Pleasantly Perfect mare Overly Indulgent.

Oak Leaf (G2)

Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman shrugged off their tough beat with Desert Gate and celebrated a big victory with their filly Explora.

A wire-to-wire sensation in her Del Mar premiere, the Blame filly was expected to back it up in the Del Mar Debutante (G1). But she got worn down by her more experienced stablemate, Bottle of Rouge.

Taking the blinkers off in her two-turn debut here, Explora proved that she could switch off early and conserve her energy for the stretch. The dark bay stalked in third as stablemate Himika led the way through splits of :23.14 and :46.98. When the tracking Heaven’s Bolt dropped back on the far turn, Explora advanced into second.

Hikima was still in control as she reached six furlongs in 1:11.56.  For a minute, Baffert wasn’t exactly sure how to read Explora’s demeanor.

 “At the quarter pole, I was wondering if she was really relaxing or not running, but we found out she was relaxing,” the Hall of Famer said. “When it was time to go, she took off. That was our plan today, was to get her to relax and not go for the lead right away.”

Explora gained momentum the further they went around the turn, and she imposed her will by the time they straightened into the stretch. Opening up down the lane, she crossed the wire in 1:44.13 for 1 1/16 miles. 

“She relaxed really good today, and she’s improving a lot,” winning rider Juan Hernandez said.” Before, she just wanted to break fast and go to the lead. But today she learned how to settle behind the pace and then responded when I asked. 

“Around the three-eighths pole, I started to pick it up, and she responded right away and finished really strong. She’s learning how to run and how to relax, and that’s a big step forward.”

La Wally was best of the rest (five points), edging 1 1/4 lengths clear of La Ville Lumiere (three points). The rest of the field was well strung out. Next came Banzai Betty (two points) and Himika (one point). Heaven’s Bolt was eased but walked off, according to the chart.

Explora has earned $228,000 from a record of 3-2-1-0. Bred by Mesingw Farm in Kentucky, she was produced by Collections Choice, herself a daughter of Bernardini and multiple Grade 1-placed stakes scorer Model. Explora went to her current connections for $350,000 at Fasig-Tipton Midlantic in May.