'TDN Rising Star' Concert Tour (Street Sense) had to work a bit harder Saturday than his 2-5 odds for Santa Anita's GII San Vicente S. might have predicted, but it's never easy to hook a Bob Baffert runner–even when you're one yourself. A 3 1/2-length debut winner while earning a solid 88 Beyer Speed Figure going a furlong shorter Jan. 15, the Gary and Mary West homebred broke on top from the outside six hole, but was soon outsprinted by stablemate Freedom Fighter (Violence). The bay sat perched in third behind splits of :23.41 and :45.98, and sidled up to the leader heading for home. Freedom Fighter put up plenty of resistance, but Concert Tour found a little bit more late to earn the decision by a half length.
“Freedom Fighter just broke like a rocket ship, he's really fast and been doing really well,” said Baffert, who has now won a record 11 San Vicentes and the last two renewals. “[Joel] Rosario [on Concert Tour] was trying to teach this horse how to rate a little bit and I thought they were going to get into a speed duel. I think it was a good race for both of them. I learned a lot about [Concert Tour], how he wants to run and maybe he doesn't need blinkers. He's pretty sharp. That's why we have these races. Now they go to where I can stretch them out. This horse has two races under his belt, but those were two really good horses.”
With another uber deep bench of sophomores, Baffert will be taking a wait-and-see approach as to who will run where along the GI Kentucky Derby trail.
“[Concert Tour] will be nominated everywhere, we will see how he comes out of it,” said the Hall of Famer. “He's pretty keyed up as well. He showed his heart and determination. I knew the other horse was going to give him a run for his money and he did. He's going to improve off of that also.”
Saturday, Santa Anita
SAN VICENTE S.-GII, $200,000, Santa Anita, 2-6, 3yo, 7f, 1:24.06, ft.
1–CONCERT TOUR, 120, c, 3, by Street Sense
1st Dam: Purse Strings, by Tapit
2nd Dam: My Red Porsche, by Mt. Livermore
3rd Dam: Wind Chime, by Marfa
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. 'TDN Rising Star' O-Gary & Mary West; B-Gary & Mary West Stables Inc (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Joel Rosario. $120,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $156,600. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Freedom Fighter, 120, c, 3, Violence–Canadian Ballet, by City Zip. ($120,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Golconda Stables, Siena Farm LLC & Robert E Masterson; B-Troy Reed (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $40,000.
3–The Chosen Vron, 120, g, 3, Vronsky–Tiz Molly, by Tiz Wonderful. O-J Eric Kruljac, Robert Fetkin, John Sondereker & Richard Thornburgh; B-Tiz Molly Partners (CA); T-J Eric Kruljac. $24,000.
Margins: HF, 2 3/4, 6. Odds: 0.40, 5.00, 3.50.
Also Ran: Found My Ball, Uncle Boogie. Scratched: Mr. Impossible. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
Pedigree Notes:
Concert Tour is the 77th stakes winner (35 graded) for champion juvenile and fellow 'Rising Star' Street Sense and second out of a Tapit mare, joining track-and-trip 2019 GII Triple Bend S. winner Air Strike. Baffert also trained Street Sense's highest earner to date in MGISW 'Rising Star' McKinzie, and for the Wests conditioned 2013 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile hero New Year's Day, by Street Sense's sire Street Cry. New Year's Day in turn sired the West's champion 3-year-old Maximum Security.
Concert Tour is one of a growing 42 stakes winners (18 graded) for top sire Tapit. The Wests paid $240,000 for his dam Purse Strings at the 2012 Keeneland September sale. After six runner-up finishes, mostly routing, she cut back to break through in her 12th and final lifetime start at the end of her 4-year-old season. One of Tapit's early standouts, champion 2-year-old filly Stardom Bound, is out of a SW/MGSP half-sister to Concert Tour's second dam My Red Porsche. That second dam is by Mt. Livermore, the broodmare sire of Street Sense's top filly and second leading earner Sweet Reason.
Purse Strings produced a Lookin At Lucky colt in 2020 before being bred back to American Freedom.
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