Zipse: Baeza runs big, but he was born in the wrong year

I can’t help but to feel a little bad for Baeza. Just imagine if he were born in another year.

He ran his heart out in the Grade 2 Jim Dandy but was never going to be better than second best on Saturday at Saratoga. That’s what happens when you run against Sovereignty.

Sovereignty reigns again in Jim Dandy.

I’ve been a fan of this 2025 3-year-old male crop for some time now. After watching Sovereignty and Journalism return without missing a beat following an excellent Triple Crown series, I am ready to call this the best crop since Curlin and Street Sense were the top two back in 2007.

But where does that leave poor Baeza?

Not to date myself, but there was a horse back in the day trained by Woody Stephens named Believe It. I liked the name, and I liked the horse, but boy, was he born the wrong year.

I bring up the son of In Reality instead of the more obvious Sham, because there was an Affirmed at the same time there was an Alydar.

Affirmed was a sensational Triple Crown winner who generally refused to lose. But Alydar was great, too. He was a rare talent who went straight into the Hall of Fame upon retirement.

A solid third behind the big two in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, history looks back at Believe It as little more than a footnote. You simply don’t get much love when you are running against Affirmed and Alydar.

Now, a lifetime later, we have Baeza. A modern day Believe It stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Horses ran much more often at that time, so Believe It had his days in the sun. Twice a stakes winner at 2, he won the 1978 edition of the Wood Memorial impressively to become a Grade 1 winner. Of course, neither Affirmed nor Alydar was in that field.

Baeza doesn’t even have that. Without a single stakes win, the son of McKinzie and Puca is still eligible for a non-winner of one other than.

After learning lessons in his first two starts for veteran trainer John Shirreffs, the C R K Stable runner announced himself as one to watch with a good-looking, maiden score at Santa Anita on Valentine’s Day.

Off that 4 3/4-length romp, Baeza not only has been swimming in the deep end of the pool ever since, but he’s been doing it with a pair of great white sharks.

In the Santa Anita Derby (G1) he ran big but was second behind Journalism.

In the Kentucky Derby he ran huge but was third behind Sovereignty and Journalism.

In the Belmont Stakes he fired once again only to be third behind Sovereignty and Journalism.

The Jim Dandy may have been his best race yet. Given a nice ride by Héctor Berrios, good horses like Peter Pan winner Hill Road, Ohio Derby (G3) victor Mo Plex and Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Sandman were left in his wake. But once again there was no beating Sovereignty.

If only Baeza were born another year.

His half-brothers Mage and Dornoch are classic winners. What does Baeza have to show off at the family reunion? It just doesn’t seem fair.

It may not be Affirmed and Alydar, but this year’s outstanding crop of 3-year-old males is without question led by a pair of heavy hitters.

Sovereignty rules over his kingdom with a devastating stride that breaks the heart of his competition. Journalism has multiple gears and courage to match. They are a modern-day Ali and Frazier.

If consistency is the sign of excellence, then this crop is fast approaching special. Race after race Sovereignty and Journalism do their thing, and horses like Baeza and to some extent Gosger, too, have had to settle for best of the rest.

Since the conclusion of the Triple Crown, Journalism has thrilled us in the Haskell, and Sovereignty wowed us in the Jim Dandy. But what of Baeza?

Is he destined for a career as the lovable loser like my beloved Chicago Cubs, or will his day come?

Will he rise up, take command and win a big one sooner or later?

He probably will need to find a big race somewhere without Sovereignty or Journalism for that to happen. Still, I think he deserves some love, too.

I admit it. I am a fan of this one-time winner. And Baeza really did run his eyeballs out in the Jim Dandy.