Baffert, Citizen Bull clinch Ky. Derby bid with Bob Lewis win
Citizen Bull, the 2024 champion 2-year-old male, got his 2025 season off to a successful start Saturday by winning the Grade 3, $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes for 3-year-olds going a two-turn mile at Santa Anita.
It was the seventh consecutive Bob Lewis victory for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who extended his record of 13 wins in the race. It also clinched a place in Kentucky Derby 2025 for Citizen Bull, who added 20 qualifying points to bring his total to 60.
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Citizen Bull (4-5) scored by 3 3/4 lengths under Martín García in what was his first start since winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 1 at Del Mar. Rodríguez (7-5) was second followed by Madaket Road (5-1), both also trained by Baffert, with Clock Tower (12-1) and Valentines Candy (49-1) completing the order of finish.
Shortly after the race, Caesars Sportsbook in Nevada shortened Citizen Bull from 22-1 to 16-1 and by Saturday evening to 14-1 in its Kentucky Derby futures book. Stablemate Barnes, who breezed Saturday, remained the 10-1 favorite on the strength of the money already bet on him since November.
Citizen Bull bobbled out of the gate but quickly went to the lead while racing on the inside. Rodríguez, making his first start vs. winners, raced on Citizen Bull’s flank with Clock Tower farther to the outside in third through fractions of 23.27 and 47.06 seconds for the opening half-mile.
“He was fresh,” Garcia said, explaining Citizen Bull’s bobble at the start. “When I was warming him up, he just wanted to go, and you could see that he was ready. When the gates opened, it was like the ground broke underneath him. He just broke too fast, but right away he recovered.”
Near the three-eighths pole, Citizen Bull continued to motor on the lead, but Rodríguez had fallen back to fourth behind Clock Tower and Madaket Road. Rodríguez, with Juan Hernández aboard, then re-engaged around the turn and moved up to second, but by then it was too late to catch the leader. Citizen Bull reached the quarter pole in 1:10.99 with a 1 1/2-length lead and extended his advantage through the stretch to win with a final time of 1:36.71.
“The champ is back,” Baffert said from the winner’s circle. “The Bull looked good coming down (the stretch). It’s funny. You see him, and you don’t realize that he has those gears. He won’t show you that in the morning, but he does have gears.”
It was Baffert’s seventh consecutive Lewis win and a record-extending 13th overall. As a formal prep for the Kentucky Derby, Citizen Bull earned 20 qualifying points toward the May 3 run for the roses. Rodríguez collected 10 points, Madaket Road six, Clock Tower trained by Wesley Ward four and Valentines Candy trained by Jesús Mendoza two.
“My other horses ran really well,” Baffert said of Rodríguez and Madaket Road. “They are learning their styles, and they need a little more racing. We are happy, and especially winning the Robert B. Lewis, because he was one of my favorite clients of all time.”
What began as the Santa Catalina was renamed after the 2006 death of Lewis, a beverage distributor who owned such standout horses as Silver Charm, the first of Baffert’s six Kentucky Derby winners.
Citizen Bull improved to 5: 4-0-1 with $1,521,000 in earnings for owners SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables and their partners. Before last year’s Breeders’ Cup, the Into Mischief colt won his debut at Del Mar in August and scored in the American Pharoah (G1) at Santa Anita in October. The lone blemish on Citizen Bull’s record was a third-place finish in the Del Mar Futurity (G1) in September.
Citizen Bull paid $3.80, $2.20 and $2.10. Rodríguez returned $2.40 and $2.10. Madaket Road, ridden by Frankie Dettori, paid $2.10.