Baffert has 3 in bid to continue domination of Los Al Futurity

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert entered the trio of Coach Prime, Wine Me Up and Wynstock as he seeks his eighth win in 10 years in the Grade 2, $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity on Saturday.

The race at 1 1/16 miles for 2-year-olds is the last of nine races on the next-to-last day of the current meet at Los Alamitos. The first post Saturday is at 3:30 p.m. EST with the Futurity at about 7:30 p.m.

Click here for Los Alamitos entries and results.

Owned by Zedan Racing Stables, Coach Prime switched to dirt in his second career start and responded with a 7 1/4-length win as the 7-5 favorite a little more than five weeks ago at Del Mar.

A son of Quality Road and the Street Sense mare Act Now, Coach Prime was bought for $1.7 million at the 2022 Keeneland September sale and has earned $43,920.

Owned by Dr. Edward Allred, the owner of Los Alamitos, and by Jack Liebau, the vice president of the Los Alamitos Racing Association, Wynstock steps into stakes company after upsetting maidens by 7 1/2 lengths Oct. 15 at Santa Anita.

Dispatched at 13-1, the son of Solomini and the Flatter mare Timberlea led throughout in his first race beyond 6 1/2 furlongs. He has banked $42,740 in three starts.

Wine Me Up will try to rebound after he was well beaten in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile dominated by Fierceness on Nov. 3 at Santa Anita.

Owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, the Vino Rosso colt out of the Kitten’s Joy mare Deanaallen’skitten was a debut winner at Del Mar and runner-up behind stablemate Muth in the American Pharoah (G1) at Santa Anita before finishing eighth in the Breeders’ Cup. He has earned $129,200.

Trainer Tim Yakteen, who won the 2022 Los Alamitos Futurity with Practical Move, will try to have Moonlit Sonata make it back-to-back victories for him.

A son of Malibu Moon and the Distorted Humor mare Distorted Champ owned by Soma Racing Stables, Moonlit Sonata goes long after rallying from off the pace to win his sprint debut at 33-1 on Nov. 25. The 2 1/2-length decision was worth $36,600.

Stronghold will try two turns for the first time after finishing a distant second behind Nysos in the Bob Hope (G3) last month at Del Mar.

Owned by breeders Eric and Sharon Waller and trained by Phil D’Amato, the Ghostzapper colt out of the Jimmy Creed mare Spectator was second in his Ellis Park debut Aug. 27 and then won going a mile as the odds-on choice Oct. 1 at Churchill Downs before being shipped to California. He has banked $104,400.

Ace of Clubs completes the field. Trained by Doug O’Neill for ERJ Racing, Fritz Brothers Racing, Pappas Horse Racing and Pablo Suaárez, the son of Mor Spirit and the Orb mare Rustic Chic returns to the main track after consecutive off-the-board finishes on turf.

He has won 2 of 5 and earned $79,680, but the wins came vs. lesser competition in sprints during the summer meet at Del Mar.

The Los Alamitos Futurity is a prep for the Kentucky Derby awarding 10-5-3-2-1 points to the top five finishers, provided they are eligible. Points earned by Baffert-trained horses will be vacated since he is under suspension by Churchill Downs Inc.