Baffert Enlists Officer for Duty

Large fields have always been the norm for the California Cup, so it was no surprise when it was announced that 111 horses had been entered in the 10 races, which will be run Saturday at Santa Anita.

However, there was one name nobody expected to hear Wednesday morning during what was a lengthy post-position draw for the Cal Cup XII.

Officer, who lost for the first time as the 7-10 favorite in Saturday’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, is being wheeled back in the $125,000 California Cup Juvenile by trainer Bob Baffert.

Although several greeted the entry with skepticism, Baffert said he plans on running Officer in the 11/16-mile Juvenile. He said the Bertrando colt, owned by Prince Ahmed Salman’s Thoroughbred Corp., had rebounded quickly after his fifth-place finish at Belmont Park, his first loss after five easy victories in California and New York.

Officer, who is two for two in races restricted to California-breds, will be heavily favored against 13 opponents in the Juvenile, where he will have a new rider and less equipment.

Gary Stevens, who was the regular jockey for leading horse-of-the-year candidate Point Given for Baffert and the Thoroughbred Corp., will replace Victor Espinoza, who had ridden the colt in his first six races. Also being removed are the blinkers Officer has worn since beginning his career this summer at Hollywood Park. Presumably, the intention is to get the horse to relax better off the pace.

According to his trainer, Officer has acted since returning to Santa Anita on Tuesday as if he didn’t run during the weekend. The 2-year-old, whose victories include the Del Mar Futurity and Champagne Stakes, looked good during a gallop Wednesday morning.

“It was a last-minute deal,” Baffert said. “I thought about it [Tuesday] after he came back from Belmont. When I got him off the van, he was full of himself, jumping around.

“I told Richard [Muhall, the racing manager for the Thoroughbred Corp.], ‘If he was mine, I’d run him back in a week.’ So, we went and looked at him this morning and I galloped him and it was just like he didn’t run, which to me he did not.”

Over a Belmont Park track where the outside was definitely the place to be, Officer, after breaking last from post position 2, battled with Came Home for the lead for most of the trip, before weakening in the final eighth of a mile. He was beaten a little more than five lengths by Johannesburg, who is now perfect in seven starts after winning his American and main track debut. Came Home, who was also unbeaten entering the Breeders’ Cup, finished seventh.

“He wasn’t tired after that race,” Baffert said. “When he hooked up with Came Home, both riders were trying to grab their horses and sometimes you can choke them down. When they turned for home, they were both empty.

“But Officer wasn’t empty as in ‘exhausted’ empty. He wasn’t really blowing hard. I can’t speak for Came Home, but Officer’s a better horse than that. He only ran five-eighths of a mile Saturday.”

Originally, Officer, who was purchased by Salman for $700,000, wasn’t going to run again until the $200,000 Hollywood Futurity on Dec. 15 at Hollywood Park, so the Juvenile will serve as a prep for that Grade I.

“I’d rather just run him in a race instead of working him up to the Futurity,” Baffert said. “Otherwise, I can’t run him until Dec. 15 and the way he is, I’d have to sit on a horse that is just sitting on go.

“If he gets beat, maybe he’s not the horse that we thought he was. But I think he is. A lot of people don’t believe he is the horse that he is, but believe me, he should have beat those horses last Saturday.

“I don’t care about criticism. I know my horses. If this horse were to go out Friday and look lethargic, we won’t run him. But the way he is today, I would say we’ll run.”

Stevens, who recently returned to California after riding for about two months in New York, has won a record 13 Cal Cup races.

“Officer was actually Gary’s mount from the beginning,” Baffert said. “But since Gary was out of town, Victor got the mount and since he won with him, I kept him on the horse.

“I told Gary that maybe he can learn something about this horse right now. We want to know what Officer’s real style is.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

California Cup

* Where: Santa Anita.

* When: Saturday.

* Post time: Noon.

* Format: Card exclusively for Cal-bred horses.