Texas Red winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita Park last year. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire.)
Racing fans should expect to see a more powerful and mature Texas Red on Sunday in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes at Santa Anita Park.
That’s a potentially scary though for the connections of Texas Red’s seven challengers in the seven-furlong race.
Texas Red will make his first start since a runaway victory in the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Stakes on Nov. 1 at Santa Anita Park. The bay colt by Afleet Aleet unleashed a visually impressive rally in the Juvenile that propelled him from 10th to first in less than a quarter of a mile.
He won the Juvenile by 6 ½ lengths and was a finalist for the Eclipse Award as 2014 champion 2-year-old male for trainer Keith Desormeaux, who is a part-owner of Texas Red in a group that includes Erich Brehm, Wayne Detmar, Lee Michaels and others.
2014 BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE
Video courtesy of Breeders' Cup World Championships
Texas Red got a well-deserved break after the Juvenile and has been working steadily toward his debut with four published workouts since the start of the year. His jockey, Hall of Famer Kent Desormeaux, Keith’s brother, said the time away did wonders for Texas Red.
“He’s growing, getting stronger and smarter,” said Kent, who was aboard for a five-furlong workout on Jan. 24. “He’s maturing wisely.”
Keith Desormeaux purchased Texas Red for $17,000 purchase at the 2013 Keeneland September yearling sale, one of three yearlings that he selected out of that auction for Erich Brehm and his family.
Texas Red has earned $1,192,300 with two wins, one second and one third from six career races.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will send out stakes winner Lord Nelson and impressive debut winner Punctuate, a Distorted Humor colt out of New Mexico-bred star Peppers Pride, who won all 19 of her career races.
$200,000 San Vicente StakesSanta Anita Park , Sunday, Race 6, 4:30 p.m. ET7 furlongs, dirt, 3-year-olds
PP
Horse
Jockey
Weight
Trainer
1
Lord Nelson
Rafael Bejarano
118
Bob Baffert
2
Serbian Syclone
Elvis Trujillo
118
Peter Miller
3
Jazzy Josh
Flavien Prat
118
George Papaprodromou
4
Texas Red
Kent Desormeaux
123
Keith Desormeaux
5
Punctuate
Martin Garcia
118
Bob Baffert
6
Magic Taste
Omar Herrera Santos
118
Marcelo Polanco
7
Bench Warrant
Tyler Baze
118
John Sadler
8
Sir Samson
Joe Talamo
118
Brian Koriner