Announcer Frank Mirahmadi said it best: friends in the morning, but rivals in the afternoons. Muth (Good Magic) put away stablemate Pilot Commander (Justify) en route to an authoritative victory in the GII San Vicente S. to open his 2024 season.
First or second for all four starts in his juvenile season, including victory in the GI American Pharoah S. two back and a runner-up effort behind fellow Eclipse finalist Fierceness (City of Light) in the GI FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile, the betting public heralded this contest as Muth's to lose.
Sent off the overwhelming 2-5 favorite, he was content to track Slider and Pilot Commander as that pair stepped out fastest to his inside. Still widest of all as :45.27 and 1:09.76 splits floated by, he challenged his stablemate coming off the bend from four wide, and cleared the embattled dup with a furlong to go. He was ridden out to a 2 3/4-length victory as Pilot Commander go the best of the photo with Slider.
“I was happy with their performance. I thought Muth was going to be up there early like he was at Del Mar, but the other horse (Pilot Commander) was quicker away from there. I thought he would be stalking but Juan, he just took back and rode Muth with a lot of confidence. He knows his horse really well. I'm just glad it worked out,” said Bob Baffert.
He added, “Zedan Racing, he gives us all this ammo to work with. He handles the wins and the losses the same way and he let me name this horse after my good friend Aaron Muth, so it is fun for him.”
Champion Two-Year-Old Male finalist #3 MUTH ($2.80) easily wins the $200,000 San Vicente Stakes (G2). The 3YO Bob Baffert trainee gets his second graded stakes victory with @JJHernandezS19 up. pic.twitter.com/yh53g2O76U
— TVG (@TVG) January 6, 2024
Pedigree Note
Muth is the first offspring to the races for the winning Hoppa, who has since produced two half-sisters to the Eclipse finalist–a 2-year-old by Violence and a yearling by Tacitus. She is due this spring with a full-sibling to the victor.
While his pedigree is quiet immediately up front as he and MSP March to Victory (Dixieland Band) are the only black-type earners, Muth does hail from the extended female family of GSW Wandering Star, who herself went on to produce G1SW-Eng War Command (War Front) and GSW-Fr Naval Officer. That extended family also includes New Zealand champion G1SW-NZ Rollout the Carpet (Aus) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}).
Saturday, Santa Anita Park
SAN VICENTE S.-GII, $200,500, Santa Anita, 1-6, 3yo, 7f, 1:23.01, ft.
1–MUTH, 124, c, 3, by Good Magic
1st Dam: Hoppa, by Uncle Mo
2nd Dam: Handoverthecat, by Tale of the Cat
3rd Dam: Frayne, by Red Ransom
($190,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP; $2,000,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR). 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Zedan Racing Stables, Inc.; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Juan J. Hernandez. $120,000. Lifetime Record: GISW, 5-3-2-0, $716,600. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Pilot Commander, 120, c, 3, Justify–Rebuke, by Carson City. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($145,000 RNA Ylg '22 KEEJAN; $700,000 2yo '23 OBSMAR). O-CSLR Racing Partners LLC; B-AR Enterprises, Inc. (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $40,000.
3–Slider, 124, c, 3, Jimmy Creed–Days Like This, by Congrats. 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($240,000 2yo '23 OBSAPR). O-Hall Racing LLC, Pearl Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds; B-Jason Hall, Stephen Baker, Herschel Martindale, and Mike Riordan (KY); T-John W. Sadler. $24,000.
Margins: 2 3/4, HD, 5 3/4. Odds: 0.40, 2.90, 8.00.
Also Ran: Boltage, Moonlit Sonata, Formidable Man.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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