Inexcessive Speed Helps Baffert Keep His Winning Ways

Through the first four days, Oak Tree is looking a lot like Del Mar.

Trainer Bob Baffert ran away with the trainer’s title by the beach and he has picked up where he left off at Santa Anita.

Inexcessive Speed gave Baffert his second winner of the day Saturday and his fifth of the meeting when she defeated her seven opponents wire-to-wire in the $100,000 California Sires Stakes.

In a race restricted to 2-year-old California-bred fillies, the 5-2 second choice won by 1 1/2 lengths over Ancient Purple in 1:23 3/5 for the seven furlongs. Griselle, the 4-5 favorite, was an additional 1 3/4 lengths behind in third.

A daughter of In Excess who is owned by Mike Pegram, Inexcessive Speed was ridden by David Flores, who is even hotter than Baffert. He already has eight victories at Oak Tree after his second three-victory day Saturday.

“I told David this is a real nice filly,” said Baffert, who also won the fifth with the promising French import Kalosca. “He’s riding with a lot of confidence right now and when your rider has confidence and you have confidence in your horses, that’s all you need.”

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Big Sky Chester, who has done most of his winning at Turf Paradise outside Phoenix, scored a 9-2 upset in the $77,260 Henry P. Russell Handicap.

Ridden by Gary Stevens for owners David and Holly Wilson, and trainer Bart Hone, the 5-year-old Afleet horse got a perfect trip tracking 8-5 second choice Bienvenido and 6-5 favorite Mufattish through some legitimate fractions, then took over in the final furlong to win by three lengths. He competed the 1 1/8 miles on turf in 1:47 in winning for the ninth time in 21 starts.

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Rather than prep in next Saturday’s $250,000 Goodwood Breeders’ Cup Handicap at Santa Anita, Touch Gold will not run again until the $4-million Breeders’ Cup Classic on Nov. 8 at Hollywood Park.

Even though the son of Deputy Minister finished last in the Pegasus last month at the Meadowlands, trainer Dave Hofmans isn’t concerned.

“I’m throwing that race out,” he said. “He came out of the race very well. We pulled the patch off his foot [originally injured at the start of the Preakness] and put another one on.

“The track was sealed at about 5:30 in the afternoon [before the Pegasus]. If the race had been run in the afternoon, I think he would have run well. Because they sealed it, it [bothered] his foot and he was trying to [lug out] the whole way. [Jockey] Chris [McCarron] couldn’t ride him. He wanted nothing to do with that hard surface.

“I don’t think he needs another race in him. He runs better fresh. We’ll go to the Classic on works alone.”

Hofmans, who won the Belmont and Haskell Invitational earlier this year with Touch Gold, will be trying for his second consecutive victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He scored a big upset last year with the now-retired Alphabet Soup.

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Another quality 3-year-old who finished last in his most recent start won’t be running any time in the immediate future.

Free House, who was sixth in the Super Derby last month at Louisiana Downs, has been turned out by owners Trudy McCaffery and John Toffan and will skip the $300,000 California Cup Classic on Oct. 25.

“They wanted to give him a break,” trainer Paco Gonzalez said. “He bled a little through the Lasix in the Super Derby, so he needs some time off. We’ll get him back in training by the end of the month and get him ready for the Strub series this winter [at Santa Anita].”

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Purchased for $2.9 million at auction late last year by the Skara Glen Stables, Luna Wells will make her first start for her new connections in the $125,000 Las Palmas Handicap today.

Idle since finishing 10th of 14 in the Breeders’ Cup Turf nearly a year ago, Luna Wells is the 5-2 favorite in the Las Palmas, a prep for the $500,000 Yellow Ribbon on Nov. 2. She has won half of her 10 starts and is now trained by Richard Mandella. Corey Nakatani, who won the $400,000 Flower Bowl Invitational Handicap on Yashmak Saturday at Belmont Park, will ride.

Also in the field, from the inside out, are Wheatly Special, Lady Ling, Radu Cool, Toda Una Dama, Escabiosa, Traces Of Gold, Auriette and Real Connection.

In the day’s other stakes race, the $100,000 California Sires, Ex Marks The Cop is the 6-5 favorite against seven other 2-year-old colts and geldings.

Horse Racing Notes

Ryafan, ridden by Alex Solis for the Juddmonte Farms and trained by John Gosden, won the $400,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, the opening-day feature at Keeneland on Saturday. Ryafan will come to California now and will be trained by Bobby Frankel. . . . Lured by a stein giveaway, which was moved from Wednesday to Saturday, the crowd at Santa Anita Saturday was 35,998, the largest at Oak Tree since it was host for the Breeders’ Cup in 1993. . . . Besides winning the California Sires on Inexcessive Speed, Flores also won the second with favored Rapid And Rough and the fourth with Well Chosen. . . . Heavily favored Men’s Exclusive won the $125,000 California Sprint Championship Saturday at Bay Meadows. Laffit Pincay rode the winner, who is expected to start next in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, for trainer Wesley Ward and owner H.E. Reed.