Trainer Bob Baffert’s 3-year-old colt Fed Biz on Thursday enhanced
his stature as one of Southern California’s top choices in the first
2012 Kentucky Derby Future Wager with a dominant $58,000 allowance race
victory while covering one mile in 1:34.74 at Santa Anita.
A $950,000 sales purchase by Kaleem Shah who was bet down to 3-5
favoritism in the first-level allowance race, Fed Biz defeated 7-5
second choice Consulado by 5 ¾ lengths. When asked how good he thought
Fed Biz might be, Bejarano exclaimed “This is my Derby horse buddy,”
before entering the winner’s circle.
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Fed Biz already had been established as a 20-1 shot in Pool 1 of
Churchill Downs’ Future Wager which opens on Friday and will close late
Sunday. His odds were the same as Creative Cause, I’ll Have Another,
Liaison and Out of Bounds, lowest among the West Coast-based prospects.
In Thursday’s competition, Fed Biz tracked the early pace of
Consulado, who had broken his maiden by 7 ¼ lengths in his previous
start while negotiating 6 ½ furlongs in 1:15. The Kentucky-bred son of
Giant’s Causeway moved up to Consulado’s flank turning into the stretch,
took command entering the lane and was geared down at the wire after
drifting in and racing somewhat greenly through the stretch.
Baffert’s bay colt had impressively broken his maiden going one
mile in his previous start when defeating Zackn’mat by 1 ¾ lengths in
1:35.40. Zackn’mat returned to win his next race.
“He repeated that race, and he’s going to improve a lot more,”
Bejarano said on Thursday. “Today, he was more comfortable and he showed
me more kick in the stretch. He won very easy. I had so much horse to
stay close (to the pace). I knew the time was kind of fast, but I had so
much horse, he was just galloping.”
“He’s still a little green,” said Baffert. “When he hit the top
of the stretch, he had his ears up and he didn’t switch leads until real
late. I’m glad I got a race into him. That’s part of the process. You
know he has the pedigree, and he has a lot of just natural talent.”
Fed Biz paid $3.40, $2.20 and $2.20. Consulado, ridden by David
Flores, returned $2.40 and $2.10 after finishing 6 ½ lengths ahead of
third-place Blueskiesnrainbows. The latter, with Martin Garcia aboard,
paid $2.60 to show.
Baffert did not specify a next start for Fed Biz, whose winning
purse of $34,800 brought his earnings from three races to $71,100. “It’s
a long way to go,” commented the Hall of Fame trainer who has saddled
nine Triple Crown winners.
Photo: Santa Anita Park