Faiza Powers Home in Santa Anita Oaks

After Faiza  demolished a field April 8 under Flavien Prat in the $401,500 Santa Anita Oaks (G2), running her undefeated record to five, trainer Bob Baffert indicated just how special the filly is.

"She's just starting to get good," the Hall of Famer said.

How much better can Faiza get? Her five races include four graded victories: the 2022 Starlet Stakes (G1) at Los Alamitos and 2023 Las Virgenes Stakes (G3), Santa Ysabel Stakes (G3), and now the 1 1/16-mile Oaks, all at Santa Anita Park. This was her biggest margin so far, 6 1/2 lengths.

"In the paddock she was really sharp today—the sharpest I've ever seen her," Baffert said. "Usually, she just does enough to win, but I told Prat, 'You're probably going to have more horse than you need today.'"

Baffert was not kidding. Faiza turned in a perfect performance, sitting off the pace as 91-1 Gila  winged out to a six-length lead a half-mile into the 1 1/16-mile distance. Faiza and Clearly Unhinged  moved up together on the second turn, passing the tiring Gila, but they did not remain in tandem for long.

Faiza left Clearly Unhinged behind, and Prat indeed had so much horse that And Tell Me Nolies , a very talented two-time graded winner, could not close ground to do anything but run second, a half-length in front of third-place Window Shopping . Faiza galloped to the wire well in hand, completing the distance in 1:43.27.

"She jumped well out of the gate and got into a good position, and from there got the job done," Prat said.

In most years, such an impressive Santa Anita Oaks winner would be heading to Churchill Downs and the May 5 Kentucky Oaks (G1), and Faiza would certainly be one of the favorites. But horses trained by Baffert are not allowed to race at Churchill Downs this year, and Faiza's owner, Michael Lund Petersen, has elected to keep Faiza with his trainer of choice and bypass the Kentucky Oaks. She was not nominated to the race.

"You can't get everything in life," said Petersen. "If that's the price I pay, I want to be loyal to the team that I have. Every success I've had is because of that man. I think he's the best horse trainer in the world."

Petersen, who lives in Maryland, had most recently been in Montana and flew in from there to see Faiza. It is the first time he has seen her race and only the second time he has seen her in person. He attended the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Old in Training Sale, where with the help of Baffert's sales team, which included bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, he bought Faiza for $725,000 from the consignment of Paul Sharp.

"She was bought in Baltimore—right in my backyard," Petersen said.

Former Kentucky Gov. Brereton C. Jones bred Faiza, a daughter of Girvin  -Sweet Pistol , by Smart Strike , in Kentucky. Jones sold the filly for $90,000 to Bet Racing at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Select Yearling Sale.

With the Kentucky Oaks out of the picture for Faiza, Baffert said that he will probably send her to the East Coast for her next race, possibly one of the top 3-year-old filly races on the New York circuit.

Video: Santa Anita Oaks (G2)