Authentic looks to rebound in Haskell after first career loss

Photo: Benoit

When a Bob Baffert trainee enters the Haskell Stakes, there’s a good chance it will be the winner. The Hall of Fame trainer has eight wins in the race dating back to 2001, with the most recent being American Pharoah in 2015.

In his quest for nine wins, Baffert has brought Authentic to Monmouth for the 2020 edition of the Haskell. The colt comes into the race with a record of 4: 3-1-0, with his only second-place finish coming in his last start, the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in June.

“We like to make excuses for our horses because they’re like our children,” Baffert said on a NTRA media conference call on Wednesday. “He was a little bit fresh coming in there and he got tired. He was wide and the winner, Honor A.P., ran a great race.”

Baffert said that one of the biggest problems with Authentic’s Santa Anita run was one of the most important areas of the race for a Baffert horse: the start.

“Like all of my horses, they have to get away from the gate cleanly,” Baffert said. “If he gets away from the gate cleanly, he’s a horse that he has speed, he can go fast, I think he can sit off a little bit in the 2 [starting gate], but the key is the break.”

The son of Into Mischief will face stiff competition in the Haskell, including Dr Post, trained by Todd Pletcher, who is coming off a second-place finish in the Belmont Stakes. Regardless, Baffert was optimistic that Authentic would come away with his first victory at 1 1/8 miles.

“I thought this horse Authentic would be a perfect fit for that,” said Baffert, who was suspended by racing regulators in Arkansas for 15 days on Wednesday, due to two of his horses testing positive for Lidocaine. “He’s a fast horse and he’s a good horse so I’m really looking forward to the race.”

This year’s Haskell is different from previous, as it is now a preliminary race for September’s Kentucky Derby. Authentic currently sits in third place on the leaderboard.

The Haskell will give 100 points to the winner, 40 to second place, 20 to third and 10 to fourth. After the Haskell, only four Kentucky Derby points races will remain.

Baffert said that the schedule changes did impact what horse he entered in the race.

“I think the Haskell, I think I might have run a horse like Charlatan in this race,” Baffert said. “That’s what I really wanted to do was run Charlatan in the Haskell. But Authentic, he’s a top horse and when he got beat in the Santa Anita Derby I was thinking the Haskell would be his prep anyway.”