Five Palms Making Stakes Debut in Los Angeles

Five Palms, a lightly raced 5-year-old trained by Bob Baffert, will make his first trip into stakes waters in the $100,000 Los Angeles Stakes (gr. III) May 25 at Santa Anita Park.



The son of Unbridled’s Song has three wins from four starts, including an impressive 4 1/2-length victory in a seven-furlong allowance/optional claiming event March 26, his first race since 2013.



“He just wasn’t training well and going through little things,” Baffert said of Five Palms’ layoff after three races late in 2013 as a 3-year-old. “It wasn’t anything that needed surgery, but I didn’t like the way he came out of (races) training. Sometimes they just need a rest.”



The Hall of Fame trainer said the six-furlong Los Angeles might not be the ideal distance for the horse owned by Karl Watson, Mike Pegram, and Paul Weitman.



“It might be a little short for him, but we wanted (a race before) the seven-eighths (Triple Bend Stakes, gr. I, June 7),” Baffert said.



Five Palms will break from the rail under jockey Martin Garcia and will face a field of five other older horses in the race restricted to 3-year-olds and up.



The most accomplished is 5-year-old Wild Dude, owned by Green Smith and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. The son of Wildcat Heir   is a two-time grade II winner, claiming last year’s Palos Verdes Stakes and this year’s San Carlos Stakes March 7. Both were at Santa Anita.



BALAN: Wild Dude Shows Speed in San Carlos Win

Distinctiv Passion is another graded winner in the field, with a victory in the Dec. 27 Midnight Lute Stakes (gr. III), as well as the Joe Hernandez Stakes Feb. 22, both at Santa Anita.



Graded stakes-placed San Onofre, second last time out in the Kona Gold Stakes (gr. II), Spirit Rules, fourth in the Kona Gold; and allowance/optional claiming winner War Academy, complete the field.