A look at Baffert's loaded stable of 2-year-olds on debut
Every year, Bob Baffert unveils a bounty of 2-year-old winners at any track where he’s got a stable, but especially at Del Mar. And if you thought 2018 might have been an exceptional year for Baffert, research by venerable racing podcaster and columnist Ron Flatter has proved you royally right.
Flatter compiled a list of Baffert first-time starting 2-year-olds this year – down to Kingly winning Saturday’s eighth race – and the numbers are impressive. His overall 2-year-old record: 51 starters, 29-4-5.
Through Saturday, Baffert’s debuting babies have a record of 19 wins from 29 starters with one second and two thirds. That’s nearly a 66 percent win rate and 76 percent in the money.
At Del Mar during the summer meeting Baffert harvested 11 wins from 13 debut starters. One of those victories came at the expense of another Baffert trainee in the same race. Game Winner, who would go on to win three Grade 1 races in the Del Mar Futurity, American Pharoah Stales and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, was one of the babes of summer. So were Roadster and Mother Mother.
During fall racing at Del Mar, Baffert sent out seven first-time starters and won three times with Coliseum on Nov. 17, Quahira on Nov. 25 and Kingly on Saturday.
Game Winner and Coliseum are among the early Kentucky Derby 2019 favorites.
| Date | Track/Race | Debuting juveniles | Race Type | Finish | Record | Top Win |
| Dec. 1 | DMR/R8 | Kingly | MSW | 1 | 1:1-0-0 | MSW |
| Dec. 1 | DMR/R8 | Green Fleet | MSW | 10 | 1:0-0-0 | N/A |
| Nov. 25 | DMR/R7 | Qahira | MSW | 1 | 1:1-0-0 | MSW |
| Nov. 24 | DMR/R2 | Highlight Reel | MSW | 6 | 1:0-0-0 | N/A |
| Nov. 17 | DMR/R2 | Figure Eight | MSW | 2 | 1:0-1-0 | N/A |
| Nov. 17 | DMR/R1 | Coliseum | MSW | 1 | 1:1-0-0 | MSW |
| Nov. 9 | DMR/R4 | Trojan Magic | MC | 6 | 1:0-0-0 | N/A |
| Nov. 3 | SA/R7 | Count Di Luna | MSW | 1 | 1:1-0-0 | MSW |
| Oct. 13 | SA/R4 | Cruel Intention | MSW | 1 | 2:2-0-0 | Golden State Juvenile |
| Oct. 8 | SA/R2 | Metropol | MSW | 1 | 1:1-0-0 | MSW |
| Sept. 29 | SA/R4 | Power Player | MSW (T) | 3 | 1:0-0-1 | N/A |
| Sept. 29 | SA/R1 | Improbable | MSW | 1 | 2:2-0-0 | Street Sense |
| Sept. 20 | LRC/R3 | Mucho Gusto | MSW | 1 | 2:2-0-0 | Bob Hope (G3) |
| Sept. 8 | LRC/R7 | Raneem | MSW | 8 | 1:0-0-0 | N/A |
| Sept. 7 | LRC/R4 | Midnight Survey | MSW | 3 | 2:0-0-1 | N/A |
| Sept. 3 | DMR/R8 | Rayana | MSW (T) | 1 | 1:1-0-0 | MSW (T) |
| Sept. 2 | DMR/R5 | Message | MSW | 5 | 1:0-0-0 | N/A |
| Sept. 1 | DMR/R9 | Magic On Tap | MSW | 1 | 1:1-0-0 | MSW |
| Sept. 1 | DMR/R9 | Admiral Brown | MSW | 7 | 1:0-0-0 | N/A |
| Sept. 1 | DMR/R5 | Much Better | MSW | 1 | 3:1-1-0 | MSW |
| Aug. 26 | DMR/R4 | Tale of the Union | MSW | 1 | 1:1-0-0 | MSW |
| Aug. 25 | DMR/R1 | Fighting Mad | MSW | 1 | 1:1-0-0 | MSW |
| Aug. 18 | DMR/R9 | Game Winner | MSW | 1 | 4:4-0-0 | BC Juvenile |
| Aug. 11 | DMR/R6 | The Aurelia Factor | MSW | 1 | 1:1-0-0 | MSW |
| Aug. 5 | DMR/R2 | Der Lu | MSW | 1 | 2:1-0-0 | MSW |
| July 29 | DMR/R6 | Roadster | MSW | 1 | 2:1-0-1 | MSW |
| July 28 | DMR/R1 | Chasing Yesterday | MSW | 1 | 4:3-0-0 | Desi Arnaz |
| July 28* | DMR/R1* | Honeyfromthesouth* | MSW* | 2* | 2:0-1-1* | N/A* |
| July 22 | DMR/R7 | Mother Mother | MSW | 1 | 3:2-1-0 | Rags to Riches |
| June 29 | LRC/R3 | Dark Prince | MSW | 5 | 5:1-0-1 | MSW (T) |
Baffert 2-year-olds on debut: 29–19-1-2
Baffert 2-year-olds in 2018: 51–29-4-5
Source: Equibase
*Honeyfromthesouth was trained to a second-place finish in her debut for David Hofmans before her transfer to Bob Baffert. Her overall record is 3:0-2-1. Her record shown on the list is for Baffert.