Rafael Bejarano bounced back like the proverbial rubber ball from a
spill in Friday’s fifth race. The mishap appeared to be very serious to
the naked eye, and the 30-year-old rider took off his remaining mounts
that day but worked horses Saturday morning and won four races that
day—all stakes—including three Grade I’s for trainer Bob Baffert.
There was never a doubt Bejarano would fulfill his engagements Saturday, according to his agent, Joe Ferrer.
Asked how soon Ferrer felt Bejarano would ride on Saturday, he
answered: “Immediately, because he said he fell on his head but he was
able to roll, and when you can roll, the initial impact isn’t as hard as
when you hit and don’t roll.
“He told paramedics he was OK. I talked to Rafael on the phone,
and Jimmy Barnes (Baffert’s top assistant) went and saw him in the
ambulance. I asked Jimmy to give him the phone and Rafael told me he was
fine, ‘Don’t worry about it. I’ll call you back in 10 minutes.’
“When he told me that, I knew that he was riding the next day.”
Bejarano rides four horses for Baffert in stakes at Hoosier Park
in Indiana on Saturday, including Fed Biz in the Indiana Derby, Eden’s
Moon, Ellafitz and Hoorayforhollywood.
Baffert’s horses earned $470,000 in purse money at Santa Anita
Saturday, his three winners finishing a combined 16 lengths in front of
their rivals.
“Everything’s good,” Baffert reported Sunday morning when asked
how Game On Dude, Power Broker and Executiveprivilege came out of their
authoritative victories. “No complaints.”
The 59-year-old Hall of Fame trainer was happy with the
improvement in Santa Anita’s conventional dirt surface. “When we first
got here, it was pretty damn deep and young horses were struggling,” he
said, “but now, to me, the best horses are winning.”