Baffert-Trained Pinehurst Captures Saudi Derby

All of the legal issues trainer Bob Baffert is facing have not slowed down his prolific stable.

The embattled Hall of Famer picked up yet another rich prize Feb. 26 as he shipped Pinehurst  halfway around the world and was rewarded with a game victory in the $1.5 million Saudi Derby Presented by Al Rajhi Bank (G3) at King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the Saudi Cup (G1) undercard.

"This was our expectation," said Baffert's assistant trainer Jim Barnes, who saddled the 3-year-old son of Twirling Candy  . "We came over here with a serious horse. He just needed to handle everything well, and he did."

Though the mile stakes was for Northern and Southern Hemisphere 3-year-olds, it did not carry any qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), which, at the moment, is a moot point. Baffert is in the midst of a two-year suspension at Churchill Downs, which is likely to face a legal challenge, stemming from the disqualification of 2021 Run for the Roses winner Medina Spirit due to failed post-race drug tests.

None of that has bothered Baffert's fleet of outstanding 3-year-olds which added the Saudi Derby to a list of 2022 wins that includes the Sham Stakes (G3), Southwest Stakes (G3), Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3), and El Camino Real Derby, leaving behind vacated Kentucky Derby points in each instance. He also sent out the odds-on favorite Newgrange  later Saturday in the $1 million Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park, but that runner finished a disappointing sixth.

The winners of the aforementioned races and Newgrange, plus the grade 1-winning Pinehurst, are owned by the glomerate of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan, Golconda Stable, and Siena Farm.

"We couldn't be happier," Barnes said.

Pinehurst, who was bred in Kentucky by Fred Hertrich III and John D. Fielding out of the Giant's Causeway mare Giant Win, notched his third win in five career starts by holding off a late bid by Akira Nakatsuji's Sekifu , a Henny Hughes  colt trained by Koshiro Take. He was bought for $385,000 by "The Avengers" partnership of SF, Starlight, and Madaket at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale from the Woods Edge Farm consignment and turned over to Baffert. He was originally purchased for $180,000 by P & B Stables from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment at the 2019 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

Pinehurst is the first stakes winner for his dam, who is from the family of grade 1 winner Harmony Lodge and graded stakes winners Graeme Hall, First Passage, Berned, and Win McCool. She also has a 2-year-old Cairo Prince   colt and a yearling Liam's Map   colt. 

Coming off a second in the seven-furlong San Vicente Stakes (G2), Pinehurst showed speed from the start with jockey Flavien Prat in the 1,600-meter Saudi Derby and battled with I Am Magic  and Consigliere  on the front end down the backstretch. 

Turning for home, I Am Magic dropped back, and Godolphin's Sovereign Prince  joined Consigliere in chasing Pinehurst, but neither could gain on the Del Mar Futurity (G1) winner in the final 300 yards.

"When it was time to make a move he responded," Prat said. "Every time a horse came to him, he responded."

The final threat came from Sekifu in the center of the racetrack whose determined charge fell short by less than a length at the wire.

"Luckily (Pinehurst) had enough heart and stamina to hold off the Japanese horse," Barnes said.

Consigliere wound up third.

Barnes indicated the March 26 UAE Derby (G2) at Meydan Racecourse could be next for Pinehurst. Unlike the Saudi Derby, the Dubai race offers, besides a seven-figure purse, 170 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, which could lead to another instance of what's becoming a recurring theme on the Road to the Triple Crown.