Derby-Focused Baffert is Over 'Pharoah' Blues

Trainer Bob Baffert has gotten over his "I miss 'Pharoah' " blues. With a new Triple Crown season upon us, the Hall of Fame horseman is focused on the last major hurdle on the way to this year's Run for the Roses—getting Rebel Stakes (gr. II) winner Cupid ready for the April 16 Arkansas Derby (gr. I).

One year after taking both those races with American Pharoah en route to Triple Crown glory, Baffert hopes to send Cupid and Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) runner-up Mor Spirit to the May 7 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I), chasing his fifth victory in America's marquee race.

"(American Pharoah) was a kind, sweet, intelligent horse," Baffert said April 12, the same day he sent Cupid and Lexington Stakes (gr. III) contender Collected through drills at Santa Anita Park. "To see him (retire) was sad because it's like watching your child leave. You think, 'Is he going to be OK? Is he sleeping at night?' 

"We went through about 60 days where we were depressed about it, not being able to see him at the barn, but at the same time we have great memories. We got to be a part of it and my kids will be able to tell their kids about it when I'm gone. That (Triple Crown experience) is part of their lives. It will always be remembered. It was tough when he left, but we're always looking at those young 2-year-olds coming up. ...We always have our minds thinking about the future."

With a stretch out to 1 1/8 miles coming for speedster Cupid, the Tapit   colt who races for Michael Tabor, Susan Magnier, and Derrick Smith, Baffert saw what he wanted in a final four-furlong work in California. After clocking the distance in :48 1/5, Cupid will ship April 13 to Oaklawn Park in care of assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes. If all goes well, he'll head straight to Churchill Downs after the race.

"He breezed today; he went an easy half and he looks ready," Baffert reported. "So hopefully we get another decent post... and he needs to break a little bit better (than in the Rebel),"

Of Collected, who breezed four furlongs in :48 flat, the trainer said a Preakness Stakes (gr. I) bid could be in the future.

"If he were to run well (in the April 16 Lexington Stakes at Keeneland), maybe we'd consider the Preakness for him, but we're being realistic where distance is concerned for him," he said.

Cupid, on the other hand, will get his chance to carry his speed over a route of ground in the Arkansas Derby. He was off a step slow in the March 19 Rebel going 1 1/16 miles, and jockey Martin Garcia had to hustle up into position to claim the lead. Cupid found more down the lane to hold off Whitmore by 1 1/4 lengths, securing his first graded stakes win straight off a Feb. 7 maiden victory.

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"He handled the trip well; broke a step slow, rushed up, made the lead, kept running, almost hit the rail, and still managed to hold off Whitmore," Baffert said. "He dug deep to get the win.

"At Oaklawn they load one at a time, and sometimes they get a little stale (waiting) in there. He broke a little flat-footed for some reason. He's never really broken real sharp, but he needs to get away from there. His speed is his weapon so he needs to get in the race early. We really got lucky last time. He can't be doing that any more. He has to leave with the field."

In Cupid, a $900,000 purchase from the VanMeter Sales consignment to the 2014 Keeneland September yearling sale, Baffert found "a very fast, long-striding horse." The colt is a half brother to stakes-winning sprinter Indianapolis and a full brother to winner Dream Team.

"I had (those two) and Cupid looks totally different," the trainer said. "He's shown he's different than a sprinter. He's come around quickly since January; he's really matured a lot. ... We knew he was a nice horse but (in the Rebel) he showed us something different. He can be a little bit of a handful like most Tapits, they can get a little bit excited, so we put a lot of work into him just to keep him relaxed and focused."

But the question remains as to whether the fleet-footed gray can genuinely carry his speed a distance.

"I haven't seen him regress," the trainer said. "If I'd seen him regress, I would have waited and run him fresh in the Derby. ... But I like what I saw today, so we're getting ready to ship tomorrow. We just want to be competitive, and going a mile and an eighth, they start to separate themselves pretty well."

Michael Lund Petersen's grade I winner Mor Spirit found himself separated at that distance April 9, when Exaggerator skipped away through the slop to win the Santa Anita Derby. Mor Spirit, a son of Eskendereya, is still on the Kentucky Derby trail after a runner-up finish under Hall of Fame jockey Gary Stevens and will ship to Churchill in the middle of next week.

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"He actually came out of the race very well and jogged today," Baffert said. "He really didn't run his race but the track surface really threw the whole race upside down. We wanted to be near the lead but Gary said everybody left there like their hair was on fire. The pace was just brutal early, so he hung there in the middle and basically just passed tired horses at the end. But he looks great. It was disappointing, but we'll move on. He's first or second every time, so you need that."

The trainer calls Mor Spirit "a big, beautiful horse," but adds the bay runner has his quirks.

"He's funny," Baffert said. "He's always been a little spooky at things; he sees things. When that mud hit him in the face (in the Santa Anita Derby), he did not like that at all. He looked like he was not going to run anywhere but he kept going, he comes on. I think it was better than it looked. We survived it and the horse came back great, that's the main thing. The winner freaked. No one was going to beat him that day."

Baffert's contenders could tangle with another freak in the Kentucky Derby should undefeated champion Nyquist hold his form off a solid April 2 Xpressbet.com Florida Derby (gr. I) win.

"He's been perfect, and everybody's thinking 'Maybe we're going to get another horse like Pharoah,' " Baffert said. "So far, the way he's run, he just refuses to lose. It's exciting. For the competitor it's not so exciting, but it's exciting to watch."

For 63-year-old Baffert, even a whirlwind career-high 2015 as the trainer of the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years hasn't dimmed the competitive fire.

"When I first started I just wanted to win a Breeders' Cup Sprint," he said. "Then when I ran second with Cavonnier in the Derby (in 1996), it was the most brutal loss of my career, and that really got me going on the Kentucky Derby.

"I think the Kentucky Derby, the (Triple Crown) classics, are really what keep us geared up, keep the competitive juices flowing. That's why, if you can have a horse good enough to run in those races, we work hard trying to get there. We've gotten to the point where we're kind of expected to get there, but it's not easy.

"When you have a horse like Mor Spirit and Cupid that could be competitive, there's a little hope, a little dream there, but you still have to get there, just get in that gate."