Can't lose: Baffert has all four entries in Robert B. Lewis

Can't lose: Baffert has all four entries in Robert B. Lewis
Photo: Alex Evers / Eclipse Sportswire

A close second in his most recent start, Newgate leads a roster of four Bob Baffert trainees going 1 1/16 miles in Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita.

Off at 5-1 in the Sham Stakes (G3) at one mile here on Jan. 8, Newgate, last early in a field of five, rallied gallantly through the lane but couldn’t get on terms with stablemate Reincarnate, losing by a neck under Frankie Dettori, who rides him back on Saturday.

An $850,000 Keeneland September yearling, Newgate was second two starts back in the Bob Hope Stakes (G3) going seven furlongs at Del Mar on Nov. 20 and will be making his fifth graded-stakes appearance since breaking his maiden going 5 1/2 furlongs first time out on July 30.

Owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, et al, Newgate, a bay colt by Into Mischief out of the Majestic Warrior mare Majestic Presence, is 5: 1-2-0 with earnings of $121,975.

Odds-on in all three of his starts, Arabian Lion, who flopped at 2-5 while beaten 12 lengths in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) Dec. 17, will hope to run back to a big second-place finish going seven furlongs in a first-condition allowance at Keeneland on Nov. 4, a race in which he finished second by three quarters of a length at 3-5.

A first-out maiden winner going six furlongs at Santa Anita on Oct. 9, Arabian Lion earned a 92 first-out Beyer Speed Figure and followed that with a 93 Beyer at Keeneland. Purchased for $600,000 out of an Ocala, Florida 2-year-old in training sale this past April, Arabian Lion is owned by Zedan Racing Stables and is by 2018 Triple Crown champ Justify.

The Robert B. Lewis would have offered Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers, but Baffert's horses are ineligible for points because of his suspension from Churchill Downs. His horses would have to be transferred to eligible trainers by Feb. 28 to be able to earn points.

2023 Robert B. Lewis (G3)

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