Hughes Dominates the American Pharaoh, Benoit Photo
Santa Anita Park Press
ARCADIA, CA —Under a confident ride by jockey Juan Hernandez, emerging 2-year-old colt Hughes circled the field on the second turn and drew away to win the Grade I, $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes presented by DK Horse going 1 1/16 miles Saturday at Santa Anita Park.
By Into Mischief, Hughes prevailed by six lengths over Net Par (18-1) to improve to 4-for-4 in his young career. The win earns Hughes a fees-paid berth to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Oct. 30 at Keeneland via the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series.
“Bob told me that he cut the blinkers, so there was a little less blinker, and to just get him to relax and you can do whatever you want with him,” Hernandez said. “He was right. He told me just to ride with confidence.”
Hughes settled in third and off the rail down the backstretch as Net Par, followed by Baffert-trained Domus (18-1), showed the way through fractions of 23.37 and 46.86 seconds. On the second turn, after Net Par completed six furlongs in 1:11.22, Hughes went by that leader while racing four wide and then cruised to the wire. Hughes won in a time of 1:43.22 while being geared down late. Finishing 9 ½ lengths back of runner-up Net Par in third was Imperial Honor, who is also trained by Baffert.
“He broke a step slow, but he relaxed really good behind horses,” Hernandez said. “It was his first time going two turns and first time running behind horses. He took it pretty well. I was loaded the whole race, I was just waiting for the quarter pole to start making my run. When I hit the quarter pole, I asked him and he took off for the wire.”
Hughes is owned by an extensive partnership led by Front Row Club, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables and Stonestreet Stables. Purchased for $675,000 at last year’s Keeneland September yearling sale. Hughes has won his four starts by a combined 25 ½ lengths. He won his debut going five furlongs at Los Alamitos in July, then won both the GIII Best Pal going six furlongs and GI Del Mar Futurity going seven furlongs on Sept. 6.
“It was good schooling for him,” Baffert said. “He got behind horses and we wanted to see that. First, he was a little bit anxious but he settled well. When we asked him to go, he went. A very respectable time here. He came back great. I just think he’s getting better and better. Baby steps to progress in the right way. He was a little bit keen, but that’s the first time he’s ever gone two turns. He got him to settle and he shut it down, and that’s what you need. You need a horse to shut it off and he did. He fits well in the Breeders’ Cup now, so hopefully we can get him there healthy.”
With the win, Hughes also earned 10 qualifying points to the 2027 Kentucky Derby.
Hughes paid $2.60, $2.10 and $2.10. Net Par, a Pavel colt ridden by Victor Espinoza for trainer Antonio Garcia, returned $7.40 and $3.20. Imperial Honor paid $2.60.
GRADE I, AMERICAN PHAROAH STAKES QUOTES
JOCKEY QUOTES
JUAN HERNANDEZ, HUGHES, WINNER: “Bob told me that he cut the blinkers so there was a little less blinker, and to just get him to relax and you can do whatever you want with him. He was right. He told me just to ride with confidence. He broke a step slow, but he relaxed really good behind horses. It was his first time going two turns and first time running behind horses. He took it pretty well. I was loaded the whole race, I was just waiting for the quarter pole to start making my run. When I hit the quarter pole, I asked him and he took off for the wire.”
TRAINER QUOTES
BOB BAFFERT, HUGHES, WINNER: “It was good schooling for him. He got behind horses and we wanted to see that. First, he was a little bit anxious but he settled well. When we asked him to go, he went. A very respectable time here. He comes back great. I just think he’s getting better and better. Baby steps to progress in the right way. He was a little bit keen, but that’s the first time he’s ever gone two turns. He got him to settle and he shut it down, and that’s what you need. You need a horse to shut it off and he did. He fits well in the Breeders’ Cup now, so hopefully we can get him there healthy. We saw some nice horses run (in Saturday’s Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park and Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland). I think the horse (Champagne winner U. S. S. Valor) in New York was pretty impressive. We have a good horse. He needs to show up. To get the trips, you need a lot of luck. He’s definitely one of the top five (male 2-year-olds in the country), or whatever you want to call it.”
NOTES: The winning owners are Front Row Club LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Bashor Racing LLC, Albaugh Family Stables, LLC, Robert E Masterson, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan.
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