Santa Anita
Final time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:49.38.
The victory was the first Grade I win of the 39-year-old Maldonado's career. He doesn't ride a lot for Baffert, but when he does the two have won at more than a 30% clip.
“I think he's a really good rider,” Baffert said. “He rides my horses really well. He rides 'em with confidence. I love to put him on speed horses. He's so smooth out of the gate. He just gets horses to run away from there.”
Maldonado said he felt good going into the race because Baffert told him Defunded had a “great shot” to win.
“When Bob says you have a shot, you have a shot,” Maldonado said. “At this point of my career right now, I was due for a big race. It came through. What better time than the second day in Santa Anita? A good time.”
Defunded went into the Awesome Again off a pair of dull efforts. He finished seventh in the Grade II San Diego Handicap at Del Mar on July 30 and then sixth in the Grade II Pat O'Brien Stakes a month later.
Baffert said Defunded went ballistic before the San Diego.
“He was a complete wreck at Del Mar, in the paddock, in the receiving barn,” he said. “He almost hurt somebody in the receiving barn. He just lost control completely.
Trainer Bob Baffert celebrates with jockey Edwin Maldonado after Defunded's victory in the Grade I, $300,000Awesome Again Stakes.
He just couldn't handle that paddock down there. We got him back here, it's a different environment, he trained well and he really behaved himself. He's one, we had to geld him early because he's tough.”
Even though the Awesome Again gave the winner an all-expenses paid berth in the Breeders' Cup Classic, Baffert said he's not sure they'll send Defunded to Keeneland.
“We're just gonna think about that and look at the competition,” he said. “I don't know if he's mentally capable of handling that Keeneland paddock. He'd have to go about a month out. Feed him and let him stay there at night. Right now we're just gonna enjoy this win.”
No one checked to see if Baffert had a rabbit's foot in his pocket before he walked off.
Santa Anita Sprint Championship
In one of the day's most thrilling finishes, Howbeit out-bobbed the old warrior, C Z Rocket, at the wire to win the $200,000 Grade II Santa Anita Sprint Championship by a nose Saturday under Mike Smith.
Smith and winning trainer Mark Glatt don't team up often, but when they do they've been a lethal combination. In the past two years, Smith has won with seven of the 14 horses Glatt's put him on.
Forbidden Kingdom, who hadn't raced in six months since a disappointing sixth-place finish as the even-money favorite in this year's Santa Anita Derby, disappointed again with a fifth-place finish in the six-horse lineup as the evenmoney favorite.
Howbeit, the 6-1 fourth choice in the wagering, won for the seventh time in 25 starts and raised his career bankroll to $362,486 with the victory. He's won four of 12 at Santa Anita and two of nine since Glatt claimed him for $32,000 in Feburary 2021 at Santa Anita.
“Since we claimed him, he's been very unlucky in his races,” Glatt said. “There was always something going wrong. On paper, I was confident he fit with this field, the competition and the numbers.”
Smith wasn't sure he'd gotten the bob at the finish.
“I wasn't too sure I was in front,” he said. “I jumped past the wire and it looked like the inside horse (C Z Rocket) was in front of me. I was just hoping at the wire I got the nod.”
It was the first time Smith's been aboard the winner.
“But they gave me a lot of great insight on him,” he said. “Everything they told me was right on. He's big. He might be a little slow leaving there. You got to help him leaving there, get him in the clear. He doesn't like dirt in his face.”
C Z Rocket, an 8-year-old gelded son of City Zip who won this race in 2020 and subsequently finished second in the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Keeneland, was searching for his first graded-stakes victory in more than a year.
John Henry Turf Championship
Masteroffoxhounds, the 2-1 second choice, snapped a ninerace losing streak with a neck victory over Dicey Mo Chara in the $200,000 Grade II turf race at the marathon distance of 1 1/4 miles.
The 5-year-old son of War Front, ridden by Umberto Rispoli and trained by Philip D'Amato, hadn't won since a 1 1/4-length victory in the Grade II San Marcos Stakes at Santa Anita in February 2021.
Dicey Mo Chara finished a head in front of 6-5 favorite Gold Phoenix for second in the sixhorse field. Final time was 1:59.79.
City of Hope Mile
Beyond Brilliant, the 4-5 favorite, was just that in the 1-mile turf race, going gate to wire under Victor Espinoza and beating Cathkin Peak by three quarters of a length for trainer John Shirreffs.
Beyond Brilliant ran the mile in 1:32.61 after setting fast fractions of 22.67, 46.16 and 1:09.37. The Twirling Candy colt won his second Grade II in his past three starts and has won five of 14 for earnings of $706,780.
Eddie D. Stakes
Whatmakessammyrun, the second-longest shot on the board at 18-1, gave Glatt his second stakes victory of the day.
Joe Bravo was aboard for the three-quarter length victory over Lane Way in the $200,000 Grade II race down the hillside turf course. Gregorian Chant, the 2-1 favorite, finished third.