Lord Nelson Victorious in 2016 Debut

Idle since Dec. 26, Lord Nelson came back running June 3 at Santa Anita Park.

Spendthrift Farm's 4-year-old Pulpit colt took the six-furlong allowance feature at the Southern California racetrack Friday by 3 1/2 lengths and hit the wire in rapid 1:07.94 under Rafael Bejarano.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Lord Nelson finished third behind champion sprinter Runhappy in the Malibu (gr. I) in December, and was subsequently purchased privately by B. Wayne Hughes' Spendthrift Farm.

"He's filled out, he's gotten stronger," Baffert said. "We've got to figure everything out before we decide what's next. This was a tough race. These allowance races here have been so salty. ... I knew he was ready today. He's pretty fit and he's been training well, so I wasn't too worried about the (:44) half and he really kicked it into another gear turning for home."

Breaking from post 3 in a field of six 3-year-olds and up, Lord Nelson was part of a four-way tussle for the early lead and was close in third, just to the outside of Kafister and Raised a Secret going into the far turn.

"He broke really good and I just decided to keep my position going into the turn," Bejarano said. "In the stretch, he opened up really good and he finished really strong."

The 3-2 favorite, Lord Nelson paid $5, $3.40, and $2.80 across the board. The winner of the San Vicente (gr. II) in February of 2015, Lord Nelson got his fourth win from 10 starts Friday. With the winner's share of $39,000, he increased his earnings to $418,271. The allowance victory snapped a four-race winless streak for the colt, but all of those efforts were in graded stakes company.

SHINAR: Lord Nelson Nabs Texas Red in San Vicente

Ocho Ocho Ocho, a 2014 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) runner, appeared poised for a huge effort turning for home after trailing the speedy fractions, but was second best behind the runaway winner.