'Worst-Kept Secret' Bezos Set for Long-Awaited Debut

The worst-kept secret of this season's 3-year-old crop is set to spice up the Feb. 7 card at Santa Anita Park, where Bezos will make his long-awaited debut for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

"I've been around this sport for some time, and I can't recall a horse making it into the Kentucky Derby futures pool without getting into the starting gate for his first race," said co-owner Jack Wolf of Starlight Racing. Bezos was installed at odds of 26-1 in Pool 2 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager when it closed Jan. 24. 

"We were really high on him in Del Mar," Baffert said of Bezos, an Empire Maker colt out of the A.P. Indy mare A P Mink. "He was fast. For some reason, the hype just really built up. I tell somebody I think he's really nice, they tell somebody, and pretty soon it's out there. He's a beautiful horse. I think he can run."

The star-studded roster that has lined up to claim a piece of the colt reads like a who's who of racing. A $400,000 purchase from Four Star Sales' consignment to the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stables, Bezos will start for the powerhouse trio plus four more, as Stonestreet Stables, Golconda Stable, Siena Farm, and Robert Masterson are all in on the action.

Starlight was co-owner of 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify , who also did not start at 2 but raced through an undefeated six-race 3-year-old campaign capped by the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), Preakness Stakes (G1), and Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1).

"I can't speak for Bob but Bezos is a horse he thinks very highly of," Wolf said. "Obviously the horse is well-bred, and Bob has done it before with Justify. To me it's a little bit crazy (thinking the horse could make the Kentucky Derby without a start at 2), but Bob thinks the horse is that good, and he probably will be."

Hall of Famer Mike Smith—who rode Justify in five of his six starts—has the call on Bezos in Sunday's launching pad, a $61,000 maiden special weight slated as race 5, which drew a field of nine at 6 1/2 furlongs. Baffert will also send out Michael Lund Petersen's Tivoli Twirl, a son of Twirling Candy  who was a $375,000 purchase from Top Line Sales' consignment to the Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training.

"Tivoli Twirl, he's fast, he can run," Baffert said. "It's not a gimmie (for Bezos)."

Bezos drew post 5 and is 6-5 on the morning line, while 4-1 Tivoli Twirl will break from post 4 under Drayden Van Dyke. Both are training sharply for Baffert; Tivoli Twirl turned in his final prep work for this spot with a bullet five-furlong work in :59 1/5 Jan. 31 at Santa Anita, fastest of 64 at the distance on the day at the California track, while Bezos worked the same distance Feb. 1 in :58 4/5, second-fastest of 30 at the distance on the day. 

Bezos also worked a sharp five furlongs in :59 2/5 from the gate Jan. 21.

Bezos, a $400,000 yearling purchase and Speed Pass worked 5 Furlongs @santaanitapark on January 21st, 2021, for trainer @BobBaffert. For more morning works, insights and analysis visit https://t.co/vLwQ9XlDWq @1stbet pic.twitter.com/9rWhOUfQDx

— XBTV (@WatchXBTV) January 21, 2021

"I put a good foundation in these young horses before I run them, so they're ready if they have to run hard," Baffert said. "We've been taking our time with Bezos and he's ready to run, so we'll see what he does."

"What we do and have done for years is go to the yearling sales and get them started as 2-year-olds, and I like to see them have some foundation as a 2-year-old; two or three races," Wolf said. "I still think that's probably the way to do it, but for a couple reasons the horse has not been ready to have his maiden start. If he does go forward and proves his quality, so be it, and if he doesn't and has to go at a slower pace, that's OK too. That's what makes Bob good."

There are six first-time starters in Sunday's field, which will head postward at 3:03 p.m. ET. Mr. Impossible, 7-2 on the morning line and a half-brother to active grade 2 winner Harvest Moon, is one of three with prior race experience. In his first start for Alice Bamford and Michael Tabor Jan. 15, the Munnings  colt finished second by 3 1/2 lengths in a six-furlong maiden special weight event at Santa Anita to the Baffert-trained Concert Tour, who is entered in Saturday's San Vicente Stakes (G2) for 3-year-olds.