West Coast Back to Work at Del Mar

Trainer Bob Baffert is more hands-on than most when he works his big horses.

With radio at the ready from the grandstand, the Hall of Famer will sometimes talk his jockeys and exercise riders through workouts, taking his real-time observations and adjusting on the fly.

With that context, it's not that abnormal to see Gary and Mary West's West Coast pop up with a half-mile drill Aug. 28 at Del Mar, his first timed work since his second-place run in the March 31 Dubai World Cup Sponsored By Emirates Airline (G1).

The 4-year-old Flatter  colt worked from the three-furlong pole to the wire, but with Baffert's live instructions continued to work another furlong past the wire and finished the half-mile in :48 4/5.

"He left the three-eighths (pole) and I told (jockey) Drayden (Van Dyke) to keep going on the radio, because he was going so easy and I wanted to see what he could do," Baffert said. "He worked nice—looked good out there."

Baffert said there isn't a race target set for West Coast but indicated he'll get more clarity on the situation when the colt gets to Santa Anita Park, after Del Mar closes for the summer, and works six furlongs. After West Coast's trip to Dubai, he was turned out for a time in Kentucky before he returned to Baffert in Southern California.

"I'll know in a few weeks, once I get him up to three quarters," Baffert said of the two-time grade 1 winner. "It won't take him long to get ready. Like all the great ones—they get ready quickly. ... When he got back (from Dubai), it just looked like he needed a freshening. He's a big horse and had been training a long time. Now he looks fantastic. He looks the best he's ever looked. As they get older, they get stronger."

Also working his way back to racing is Speedway Stable's Collected, the 2017 TVG Pacific Classic (G1) winner. The 5-year-old son of City Zip last raced in the Jan. 27 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) at Gulfstream Park (where West Coast finished second). Collected has had three works at Del Mar, one at three furlongs and two at five, including a five-furlong drill in 1:01 flat Aug. 26.

"He's in the same boat as West Coast," Baffert said. "We're bringing them along at their own pace. They'll show up (in a race) somewhere."