Speed Boat Beach Tops Baffert Exacta in Malibu Stakes

Everything came together for Speed Boat Beach  in the Dec. 26 Malibu Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park.

Making his third start off a layoff at seven furlongs, a distance he perhaps prefers, and reunited with jockey Flavien Prat, Speed Boat Beach led through much of the Malibu to post a very smart 1 1/2-length victory over Hejazi . That gave trainer Bob Baffert a one-two finish and a record-equaling sixth Malibu.

"I think seven-eighths is better for him because they're not going to be going :21 3/5," Baffert said.

Speed Boat Beach had to shave :22 for a quarter-mile when setting the pace in the six-furlong Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) in only his second start after a break of more than nine months. He was facing his elders and the best sprinters in the country that day, and he ran a creditable fourth behind champion Elite Power  .

The Malibu not only is seven furlongs, it is a final opportunity for 3-year-olds to stick with their own age group. Baffert entered Speed Boat Beach, Hejazi, and Fort Bragg , and the field included such shippers as Giant Mischief , trained by Brad Cox.

As it turned out, Baffert himself provided Speed Boat Beach with his biggest challenge. Favored at 8-5, Speed Boat Beach outbroke the field, but Hejazi went right with him. Hejazi grabbed the lead and was responsible for the first fraction, a quarter-mile in :22.21. Though right with the pace, Speed Boat Beach relaxed for Prat, something Baffert said they had been working on with the colt.

"His issue is that he has always been very aggressive," Baffert said. "He's aggressive in the mornings and aggressive in his races."

Racing inside of Hejazi, Speed Boat Beach dueled with his stablemate down the backstretch and took the lead in the turn. Speed Boat Beach set the rest of the fractions, getting a half-mile in :44.42 and six furlongs in 1:08.65.

"I got him to relax and we took a little breather," Prat said. "Around the turn, he really went well. He didn't mind being on the inside."

The two Baffert runners battled through the stretch, leading Baffert to say later, "Turning for home I knew I was going to win it—I wasn't sure which one it was going to be."

Though Hejazi didn't give up, Speed Boat Beach wouldn't allow him past, going on to score by 1 1/2 lengths in 1:21.70 on a fast track. It was three lengths back to third-place Giant Mischief—who earned his first grade 1 placing, followed by Damon's Mound , Raise Cain , Fort Bragg, and Sharp Aza Tack .

Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, who co-own Speed Boat Beach with Mike Pegram, joined the crowd in the winner's circle to accept the trophy. They know a few things about running a good sprinter, as Baffert also trained Midnight Lute   for the same ownership to win two Breeders' Cup Sprints and earn an Eclipse Award as champion sprinter while their Secret Circle  won the 2011 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Sprint before taking the Sprint two years later.

"That was awesome," Watson said in the winner's circle Tuesday. "We've been lucky. He got the seven furlongs—I was a little worried."

Though Speed Boat Beach began his career winning at five and 5 1/2 furlongs, he successfully got a mile in the 2022 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes (G3T) on the turf at Del Mar. Pegram, Watson, and Weitman purchased him in the name of Three Amigos for $200,000 from Really and Truly Thoroughbreds at the 2022 Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March 2-year-olds in training sale.

Prior to the Malibu, Prat had ridden Speed Boat Beach three times, with two victories, in his maiden score and the DeMille. Juan Hernandez rode Speed Boat Beach when he won the 2022 Speakeasy Stakes, also on the turf.

"I had Prat work him one day out of the gate for me," Baffert said. "He gets along with him, and it was a great gate work. I told him, 'If you can work him like you did from the gate that day, I think we can get it done.' Hejazi was a little bit keen —(Hernandez) said he couldn't get him to relax."

Baffert's sixth Malibu win tied trainer Richard Mandella. Previously, Baffert won it with Taiba   in 2022, Charlatan   in 2020, McKinzie   in 2018, Shakin It Up   in 2013, and The Factor   in 2011.

Caperlane Farm bred Speed Boat Beach in Florida from unraced Sophia Mia , a daughter of the Baffert-trained Pioneerof the Nile. The second dam is stakes winner and multiple graded stakes-placed Amie's Dini .

Baffert also trained Bayern , the sire of Speed Boat Beach. Winner of the 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), Bayern has also sired such stakes winners as Biddy Duke . Bayern was sold in 2021 to Dr. Sangil Choi of South Korea and moved to stand at Choi's Great Hill Farm in that country.