Brought to you by AmWager
Potente gets up late over long shot Robusta, Benito Photo
Santa Anita Park Press
ARCADIA, CA —After winning his debut sprinting last month at Santa Anita, $2.4 million auction buy Potente surged past 67-1 longshot Robusta in the final strides to win Saturday’s Grade II, $200,000 San Felipe Stakes presented by DK Horse for 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita.
Trained by Bob Baffert for owner Speedway Stable, Potente (8-1) scored by a head under Juan Hernandez to improve to 2-for-2. Robusta, ridden by Emisael Jaramillo and trained by Doug O’Neill, nearly won as the second-longest shot on the board at 67-1. He finished 2 ?-lengths clear of third-place finisher So Happy, the 2-1 second choice. Secured Freedom (2-1) was next followed by 4-5 favorite Brant. The top five finishers all receive qualifying points for this year’s Kentucky Derby (50-25-15-10-5).
“This horse has a lot of talent,” Hernandez said of the winner. “He’s big, he’s strong, and he showed up today.”
Potente settled just behind the leaders as Brant, the 4-5 favorite, ushered the field through fractions of 22.88 and 46.62 and 1:10.42 with So Happy lapped to his outside. Robusta, like Potente, was also up-close tracking the two leaders while racing widest of all.
Near the quarter pole, Brant—a $3 million auction purchase also trained by Baffert—began to weaken. Robusta took the lead into the stretch and was clear of Potente with less than a sixteenth of a mile left to run, but in the very late going, Potente found his best stride. He ran past Robusta and continued to pull away from the field once past the wire.
“As we turned for home, I swung out a little bit, and it took me a little while to get going, because, like I said, he’s very big,” Hernandez said. “But man, he’s a really, really nice horse. It’s only his second start and he’s improving. I think he’s going to be even better next time.”
Potente won in a time of 1:42.92. By Into Mischief out of the Awesome Again mare Sweet Sting, he was purchased at the 2024 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale.
“I knew the pace was going to be hot,” Baffert said. “I think Brant was a work away from this race. He got tired. Potente is bred to go that far. He was ready for that…That horse that ran second (Robusta) is not a bad horse. He beat Cherokee Nation.”
Baffert added Potente would make one more start before the Kentucky Derby on May 2 at Churchill Downs.
As for Robusta, O’Neill was thrilled with his performance despite being edged from victory. By Accelerate, Robusta previously was sixth in the GIII Robert B. Lewis going one mile on Feb. 7. In the San Felipe, he was wearing blinkers for the first time.
“He ran huge,” O’Neill said. “The blinkers made the difference today. Brad Kelly of Calumet suggested them. The horse is a homebred (for Calumet Farm) and he’s super talented. We’re going to the Santa Anita Derby and the Kentucky Derby. Let’s go.”
Potente paid $18.20, $8.40 and $5.00. Robusta returned $33.60 and $9.00. So Happy, who was making his two-turn debut under Mike Smith for trainer Mark Glatt, paid $2.40.
GRADE II, SAN FELIPE STAKES QUOTES
JOCKEY QUOTES
JUAN HERNANDEZ, POTENTE, WINNER: “This horse has a lot of talent. He’s big, he’s strong, and he showed up today. He breaks really, really good and relaxes really well behind the other horses. Last time he ran on the lead, but today, he was traveling really good behind horses, like a professional. “As we turned for home, I swung out a little bit, and it took me a little while to get going, because, like I said, he’s very big. But man, he’s a really, really nice horse. It’s only 2nd start and he’s improving. I think he’s going to be even better next time.”
TRAINER QUOTES
BOB BAFFERT, POTENTE, WINNER: “I knew the pace was going to be hot. I think Brant was a work away from this race. He got tired. Potente is bred to go that far. He was ready for that. Kimura told me he thought the horse was a two-turn horse. That horse that ran second (Robusta) is not a bad horse that he beat. He beat Cherokee Nation. I was just a little disappointed in Brant. We’re moving forward with Potente. He’ll have another start before the Kentucky Derby.”
DOUG O’NEILL, ROBUSTA, SECOND: “He ran huge. The blinkers made the difference today. Brad Kelly of Calumet suggested them. The horse is a homebred and he’s super talented. We’re going to the Santa Anita Derby and the Kentucky Derby. Let’s go.”
OWNER QUOTES
PETER FLUOR, POTENTE, WINNER: “I thought there would be a lot of pace, and there was, so Juan laid right off that pace. He is bred for this distance, but he had only been in a sprint race, so you kind of cross your fingers and hope something positive happens. I thought Juan did a good job laying behind them. Going around the far turn he gave him a kick and we all got excited. “Juan said that when he got his head in front, he started to ease a little bit, but he thought he could go further so every owner likes to hear that. Obviously, the betting odds didn’t favor us (8-1) but we are very proud of the performance he did and the way Bob trained him.”
NOTES: The winning owners are Speedway Stables.
