American Anthem Displays Sharp Work Ahead of Woody Stephens

China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners and SF Racing's Grade 3 winner American Anthem had another sharp work Monday morning at Santa Anita in preparation for Saturday's Grade 2, $500,000 Woody Stephens at Belmont.

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert watched the 3-year-old son of Bodemeister go a half-mile over the main track in 47 seconds, handily, ranking third of 53 horses at the distance. It was his third work following a 1 ¾-length triumph in the Grade 3 Laz Barrera May 13.

The Laz Barrera, run at the Woody Stephens' seven-furlong distance, was the first start for American Anthem since being taken off the Triple Crown trail following an off the board finish in the Grade 2 Rebel and Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. He was second by a head in the one-mile, Grade 2 Sham January 7 to open the year.

"He worked good today and he's doing really well. That was a huge effort last time coming off of those other races. If he can run that race back he's going to be very competitive," Baffert said by telephone. "Eventually I want to stretch him out. I thought about the Easy Goer because of the mile and a sixteenth, but the Woody Stephens is a big race so we'll take a shot there."

Also working Monday at Santa Anita for Baffert was West Coast, who went a half-mile in a bullet 46.20 seconds, handily, for Saturday's $150,000 Easy Goer. The bay Flatter colt has run first or second in each of his four starts, getting beat a head by Senior Investment in the Grade 3 Lexington April 15 but returning to defeat older horses in a 1 1/16-mile second-level allowance May 20.

Senior Investment went on to run third in the Preakness and is returning in Saturday's Belmont, a race Baffert said he was initially considering for West Coast.

"He got a little unlucky in the Lexington. The track was really deep that day and he came up and made that early run and he was just lost out there by himself, and he got caught," he said. "The other day I ran him in an allowance against older horses. I was going to run him in the Belmont if he ran really well, but that day he just didn't really 'wow' me. He was in a bad spot the whole way around there and we had to use him and he didn't finish like we wanted him to. But, he came back and he's worked well and I think he should be real competitive."

Baffert's horses, including Grade 1 winners Mor Spirit for the Grade 1, $1.2 million Mohegan Sun Metropolitan and Abel Tasman for the Grade 1, $700,000 Acorn, are scheduled to arrive in New York Wednesday. Baffert said he would be at Belmont for training Friday.

Source: NYRA