Baffert debutant Faustin justifies Derby steam, wins his debut

Faustin, a Bob Baffert-trained colt who generated steam last week in the Las Vegas futures market for Kentucky Derby 2023, won his debut Monday as the odds-on favorite in a six-furlong, $67,000 maiden race for 2-year-olds at Santa Anita.

Click here for Santa Anita entries and results.

The gray colt by Curlin and ridden by Ramón Vázquez started slowly but did not stay in seventh for long. Faustin (4-5) picked up speed after the first 100 yards, moved into the middle of the eight-horse pack on the backstretch and turned fourth into the stretch. Turning his head from side to side, he took the lead in the last sixteenth of a mile on his way to a 2 3/4-length victory.

Faustin’s stablemate Sonoran (5-1), who seized the lead turning into the stretch, finished second. Yellow Brick (4-1) won the photo for third ahead of Worcester (4-1), another Baffert colt, coming in fourth. The early pacesetter Vegas Burner (21-1) wound up fifth.

The winning time of 1:10.08 on the fast main track followed fractions of 21.68 and 44.47 seconds for the first quarter-mile and half-mile.

Baffert trains Faustin for Michael Lund Petersen, who bought the colt for $800,000 at an Ocala, Fla., sale of 2-year-olds in April. Out of the three-time Grade 1-winning Hard Spun mare Hard Not to Like, Faustin created buzz this fall with three bullet workouts. The most recent was a 46.8-second turn around a half-mile Dec. 10 at Santa Anita, the fastest of 100 works at the distance that day.

Circa opened Faustin at 35-1 last Monday in its Derby futures. He was bet down to 29-1 before his debut. Afterward he was shortened to 22-1, making him one of the four shortest-priced horses in the Las Vegas market for the May 6 race.

Even though Baffert continues to serve a Churchill Downs suspension, which he is fighting, his horses may be bet for the Derby since they could be moved to eligible trainers before the race.