It’s Bob Baffert’s day, again, at Hollywood Park

One of these days, they’ll just cave in to the obvious and call the final big race of the Hollywood Park autumn meeting the Bob Baffert Futurity.

The actual name is the CashCall Futurity, and a large portion of the $750,000 purse is put up by J. Paul Reddam, owner of the CashCall financial loan company. Reddam, like any good businessman, tries to get some of that investment back as an owner himself. His horse, Handsome Mike, ran in the Grade I race Saturday.

But inevitably — or at least for the sixth time, a record for trainers — there is that white-haired, wise-cracking guy, standing around near the winner’s circle at the end, answering reporters’ questions about how he won another one.

And so it went, on an overcast day that brought the eyes of horse racing to the Inglewood track to see, for many, what kind of horse or horses Baffert would have for this year’s Kentucky Derby. This race, for 2-year-olds at the very end of the season, is among the leading indicators. That being the case, you may be hearing at least three names connected to Baffert in the months ahead.

The most prominent will be Liaison, an Arnold Zetcher-owned horse that ran past the field down the main stretch and held on to win by a neck.

“He seemed bottled up for a while,” Zetcher said, “but once he got free, he ran great.”

Baffert, who also had Sky Kingdom and Drill in the race, for different owners, didn’t get quite as good a look at Liaison because he had to split his rooting duties into thirds.

“I’m a super front-runner,” Baffert joked. “I didn’t give any of the jockeys instructions. They were on their own because I don’t want to get blamed for losses. I was looking for Drill at first. Then I saw a little pink color coming, but it was a different horse’s colors, and then I saw Liaison coming home and started rooting for him.”

Sky Kingdom finished fourth, Drill ninth, and both are likely to remain in the Kentucky Derby discussion, as will runner-up Rousing Sermon, who finished strong, and Brother Francis, who was third. Trainer Doug O’Neill’s Handsome Mike was seventh, meaning that Reddam will, once again, see the $450,000 winner’s share go to another Team Baffert.

Zetcher and Baffert had Midnight Interlude in the Kentucky Derby last May, but that entry became obvious only after the Santa Anita Derby, a month before.

“We only had that one month to drive ourselves crazy,” Zetcher said. “This time, it is five months. In my house, we aren’t even allowed to use the word ‘Derby.’”

Zetcher’s timing on the ownership of Liaison was fortuitous.

“I remember the day I bought the horse,” Baffert said. “Arnold happened to call and asked what I was doing. I said I’m at the September sale and as a matter of fact, I just bought a horse. I told him it was an Indian Charlie [offspring]. He asked how much I paid and I said $290,000. He asked who I bought him for. I said I didn’t have an owner yet. I just loved him and so I bought him. I asked if he wanted him and he said he would take him.”

Baffert said there was an omen in the phone call.

“That’s how Bob Lewis got Silver Charm,” he said. “I had just bought him and Bob called. I asked if he wanted him and he said yes.”

Silver Charm won the 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness and barely lost the Belmont for the ownership of the late Bob Lewis and his wife, Beverly.

Liaison’s victory meant more than just another huge paycheck and lots of early Derby buzz for Baffert. Liaison’s sire was one of Baffert’s favorite horses, Indian Charlie, who died of cancer last week at age 16. Indian Charlie had won four races in a row going into the 1998 Kentucky Derby, and that included a victory over Real Quiet in the Santa Anita Derby that year. But at Churchill Downs, Indian Charlie finished third, as Real Quiet — also a Baffert horse — won and eventually missed a Triple Crown by inches in the Belmont.

Indian Charlie didn’t run in the second two legs of the Triple Crown that year, and eventually suffered a career-ending injury later that summer. But he turned out to be a top sire, including fathering the recent Eastern super-horse Uncle Mo.

Going into Saturday’s racing, Indian Charlie’s progeny had produced more than $43 million in prize money.

“He was a big, easy-going horse,” Baffert said.

Going in, the race was a tough one to figure. Peter Miller’s Majestic City was a somewhat soft favorite at 3-1, and the rest of the field was fertile territory for speculators. There was even a maiden (non-winner) in the field, which is a bit strange for a $750,000 Grade I. There was also a horse shipped from Europe last week after breaking his maiden Nov. 15. The maiden, Groovin’ Solo, was pulled up on the backstretch and finished last. The European shipper, Desormais, coasted in 12th in the 13-horse field after resisting being loaded at the start.

Baffert said this race was important, not just because of the size of the purse, but because of the need to sort things out for the 3-year-old season.

“This is where they really start to separate themselves,” he said. “I’m just glad I was at the front of the separation.”

bill.dwyre@latimes.com