Baffert Sweeps Arkansas Derby With Charlatan and Nadal

One of the main reasons trainer Bob Baffert was delighted that Oaklawn Park officials split the $500,000 Arkansas Derby (G1) into two divisions was that it removed the possibility of his two undefeated 3-year-olds, Nadal and Charlatan, slugging it out in the same race.

After what happened May 2 in the two divisions of the 1 1/8-mile stakes, a showdown between the two seems inevitable—and it should be a classic matchup.

Charlatan and Nadal kept their perfect records intact by winning their respective divisions of the Arkansas Derby and giving the Hall of Fame trainer an extremely powerful hand for the 3-year-old classics whenever they are held. 

After Saturday's sweep, not only does Baffert have two stars, he has a set of aces with the undefeated Authentic also residing in the two-time Triple Crown winner's barn.

"I'm really excited about these three," said Baffert, who savored both victories from his famed "Grade 1 Couch" in California with three of his sons beside him. "It's hard to separate these three 3-year-olds. They are good horses, and I'm lucky to have them. I wish the Kentucky Derby (G1) was in June."

While the Arkansas Derby victories provided Nadal and Charlatan with more than enough qualifying points, Baffert's horses, and every other 3-year-old, will have to wait until Sept. 5 to race in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve because of the COVID-19 pandemic that kept Oaklawn closed to the public.

How anyone will prepare their horses for the first Saturday in September at Churchill Downs is unclear, but Baffert said he'll likely run at least one of the trio in the Santa Anita Derby (G1), which has been rescheduled for June 6. Should the Belmont Stakes (G1), which remains scheduled for June 6, be moved to a date later in June or early July, one of the trio will probably head to New York.

Beyond that, it's a guessing game.

"I'm waiting to hear what they are doing with the other big races for 3-year-olds," Baffert said. "We know the Kentucky Derby is in September, and we'll work back from there."

Baffert credited the work of assistant trainer Jim Barnes, who has been in Arkansas caring for the stable's shippers, and the rest of his team for the twin victories that were celebrated in style.

"I talked to Jeff Ruby the other day and told him I'll be here in California and that I'll miss having a steak dinner in his restaurant before the Derby," Baffert said. "So he sent me a bunch of steaks. This is some day!"

Ruby should have sent some mint juleps, too, as both of Baffert's winners looked like top Kentucky Derby contenders on a memorable  afternoon when the first Saturday in May belonged to a derby in Arkansas rather than the one in Bluegrass country.

Seasoning Pays Off for Nadal

Nadal landed in the second and tougher of the two divisions, which was fine with Baffert because the son of Blame  is far more seasoned than Charlatan, who made his stakes debut Saturday.

"Nadal was ready for this," he said. "He was tested the last time."

Owned by George Bolton, Arthur Hoyeau, Barry Lipman, and Mark Mathiesen, Nadal was coming off a grueling victory in the March 14 Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn where he set fast fractions and still managed to score by less than a length.

In Saturday's race, which was originally scheduled for April 11, speedy Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) winner Wells Bayou jumped out of the gate under Florent Geroux from the outside post in the field of nine to open a quick early lead through a :46.21 opening half-mile. Under Joel Rosario, Nadal broke nicely, then tracked in second before forging to lead as Wells Bayou tired approaching the quarter pole.

From there, it was a straight-sets win for the 4-5 favorite ($3.80), who led by 1 1/2 lengths in midstretch and then pulled away in the final furlong to cross the wire three lengths ahead in 1:48.34, a time slightly better than Charlatan's 1:48.49 two races earlier.

"We learned today that both Nadal and Charlatan are gifted horses and that Nadal can sit off horses. That's good news," said Baffert, who got his third and fourth wins in the Arkansas Derby and first since 2015 Triple Crown champion American Pharaoh rolled to victory. "I had a feeling Florent would do something like that (with Wells Bayou), so I told Joel, 'Once you get him running, ride him the way you want.' He kept him close to the lead, and turning for home I knew Nadal had enough run in him to win."

Nadal, who had 50 qualifying points before Saturday, pushed his total to 150 with his fourth consecutive win as 100-40-20-10 points were awarded to the top four finishers in both divisions.

Bred in Kentucky by Sierra Farm, Nadal is the first stakes winner out of the Pulpit mare Ascending Angel. He was bought for $700,000 by Kerri Radcliffe Bloodstock out of Randy Bradshaw's consignment at The Gulfstream Sale, Fasig-Tipton's March select sale of 2-year-olds in training, in 2019. Bradshaw bought the colt for $65,000 a year earlier at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

He has earned $1,053,000, all as a 3-year-old.

Sent off at 49-1 when he won the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2) for former major leaguer Victor Martinez's Victoria's Ranch stable, King Guillermo was second as the 9-2 second choice for trainer Juan Avila.

The son of Uncle Mo  was 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Arnaldo Monge and Rey Hernandez's Finnick the Fierce. The one-eyed Dialed In  gelding trained by Hernandez had 2 1/2 lengths on Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Chrysalis Stables, and Robert LaPenta's Farmington Road, a son of Quality Road  trained by Todd Pletcher.

Charlatan Makes an Impression

Though May 2 was not the first Saturday of the month that everyone was expecting, there were plenty of familiar faces in the Oaklawn Park winner's circle to make the rescheduling of the Kentucky Derby a bit more bearable. 

Running his competition off their feet in the first division of the Arkansas Derby was Charlatan, a son of Speightstown.

Guided by Martin Garcia, Charlatan broke perfectly and went straight to the front. Angled in toward the rail, the colt made it look easy along the backstretch as he posted fractions of :22.88, :46.08, and 1:09.68 for six furlongs while maintaining a two-length lead.

Steve Asmussen trainee Basin, who won the Runhappy Hopeful Stakes (G1) at 2, broke sharp from post 9 under Ricardo Santana Jr. and straightened quickly to get up behind Charlatan. The pair pressed the leader in the two path, followed by Anneau d'Or in third.

Mo Mosa and Gouverneur Morris dueled for fourth through the half-mile until Gouverneur Morris picked up the pace leaving the backstretch and angled out wide in an attempt to catch the frontrunners.

Charlatan found another gear at the top of the stretch and increased his margin to 4 1/2 lengths. Santana asked Basin for more as the field stormed home, but the Liam's Map  colt didn't have enough to pose any real threat to Charlatan, who crossed the wire six lengths in front.

"Charlatan just goes fast and faster," Baffert said. "He's a smaller version of (2018 Triple Crown winner) Justify ."

The final time was 1:48.49 on a fast track.

"I can say I am really lucky to ride him," Garcia said. "Mr. Baffert and the owners had a lot of choices. They pick me. I just did my job, and he took me to the winner's circle. They told me we were smoking. I went in 1:09, and he was just galloping. He did it all within himself. I felt someone coming at the three-eighths, and I let him go. He just took off. That's a sign of a really good horse."

Gouverneur Morris finished a neck behind runner-up Basin for third. It was another three lengths back to Winning Impression in fourth. Anneau d'Or was fifth, followed by Crypto Cash, Mo Mosa, Jungle Runner, and My Friends Beer. 

"He was in hot pursuit the whole way," Asmussen said of Basin. "He hung in there really well. Solid fractions. I thought Ricardo gave him every shot. He just finished second-best."

Charlatan's 100 points moved him to fourth on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.

Owned in partnership by SF Racing, Madaket Stables, Starlight Racing, Stonestreet Stables, Fred Hertrich III, John Fielding, and Golconda Stables, Charlatan made his debut for Baffert on Feb. 16 at Santa Anita Park, where he also wired the field to win by 5 3/4 lengths. He made his second start in a one-mile allowance optional claiming race March 14 at the Southern California track. He again blew away his competition in an even more dominating gate-to-wire performance, winning by 10 1/4 lengths.

Bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, Charlatan is out of the Quiet American mare Authenticity, who won the La Troienne Stakes (G2) and Shuvee Handicap (G3). Authenticity hit the board four times in grade 1 company before she was retired at the end of 2013, when Stonestreet went to $1.2 million at The November Sale, Fasig-Tipton's fall breeding stock sale, to bring her back to its band. Her first foal was the stakes-winning Malibu Moon mare Hanalei Moon, who was followed by Charlatan. Her Tapit 2-year-old, Bennyfromthebronx, was a $300,000 purchase by Field Point Associates at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. She has a yearling Into Mischief  filly and was bred to Curlin  for 2020.

Charlatan has earned $367,200 from his three victories.

Video: Arkansas Derby (G1)