Baffert well represented in the Rober B Lewis, Benoit Photo
Santa Anita Park Press
ARCADIA, CA —Intrepido, Desert Gate and Plutarch—the top three finishers in last year’s Grade I American Pharoah at Santa Anita—will kick off their 3-year-old seasons on Saturday in the Grade III, $100,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes for sophomores going one mile at Santa Anita.
Intrepido, trained by Jeff Mullins, won the 1 1/16-mile American Pharoah by three-quarters of a length over Desert Gate, who is among a trio in the Lewis for trainer Bob Baffert. By Maximus Mischief, Intrepido then tried the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar and finished fifth on Oct. 31 to close out his juvenile campaign Oct. 31.
Intrepido was purchased for $385,000 at last year’s OBS April sale of 2-year-olds in training by owners Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures. He’ll have regular rider Hector Berrios in the irons.
Desert Gate was making his two-turn debut when narrowly beaten by Intrepido in the American Pharoah. The Omaha Beach colt has not raced since. Prior to the American Pharoah, Desert Gate won the GIII Best Pal and was second in the GI Del Mar Futurity, both sprinting at Del Mar.
Desert Gate is owned by Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman. He was bought for $260,000 at last year’s OBS April sale. Regular rider Juan Hernandez has the call on Desert Gate.
Plutarch was also beaten less than a length by Intrepido when third in the American Pharoah. He has since made two starts on turf, which includes a maiden-breaking victory going 1 1/8 miles on the lawn Nov. 30 at Del Mar. By Into Mischief, Plutarch is owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith. Jockey Florent Geroux, who relocated to Santa Anita this week from Fair Grounds, will ride Plutarch.
Robusta and Secured Freedom will step up in the Lewis after recently breaking their maidens at Santa Anita.
Robusta, trained by Doug O’Neill, went gate-to-wire to graduate when stretched out to a mile in his second start Jan.8. A homebred for Calumet Farm, Robusta is a colt by Accelerate. He’ll be ridden by Emisael Jaramillo, who was also aboard for his maiden win.
Secured Freedom, trained by Tim Yakteen, will be trying two turns for the first time. By Practical Joke, most recently graduated going 6 ½ furlongs at Santa Anita on Dec. 28 when making his second start. Secured Freedom, a $110,000 auction buy as a yearling, is owned by Leslie A. Amestoy, Pierre Jean Amestoy Jr. and Roger K. Beasley. He’ll have regular rider Kazushi Kimura aboard.
THE GRADE III ROBERT B. LEWIS WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER
Race 8 of 9 Approximate post time 4 p.m. PT
- Desert Gate—Juan Hernandez—120
- Plutarch—Florent Geroux—120
- Cherokee Nation—Antonio Fresu—120
- Intrepido—Hector Berrios—124
- Briggs Armypower—Tyler Baze—120
- Robusta—Emisael Jaramillo—120
- Secured Freedom—Kazushi Kimura—120
First post Saturday is 12:30 p.m. PT. Full entries for Saturday’s card at Santa Anita are available at santaanita.com.
