Breeders' Cup: Baffert faces a different scenario this year
In a decidedly different scenario from most years, trainer Bob Baffert’s accomplished 3-year-old colt Taiba isn’t likely to be among the betting favorites in the $6 million Classic.
Baffert is the leading money winner in Breeders’ Cup history and has won the Classic a record four times, and the Zedan Racing Stables colt has two Grade 1 wins on his resume. But Taiba could go off as the fourth or fifth choice in the wagering in the eight-horse field. Unbeaten Flightline and Life Is Good are the highest-profile horses in a very strong field. Taiba, who will start from the rail under Hall of Famer Mike Smith, is listed at 8-1 on the morning line.
Taiba, a $1.7 million yearling purchase, did not race at 2. He opened his career with a decisive maiden score in March and followed with a victory in the Santa Anita Derby (G1). His unbeaten status ended with a 12th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby. After a short break from competition, he was second by a head in the Haskell (G1) and won the Pennsylvania Derby (G1). Taiba shipped from California with his Baffert stablemates Sunday, jogged Monday and galloped Tuesday morning.
“He's a 3-year-old that was sort of thrown into the deep end right away,” Baffert said. “He's recovered from that and ran a respectful race in the Haskell, then came back and won the Penn Derby. I think he's a horse that’s just going to get better. He reminds me a lot of his sire. Gun Runner got better as he got older.”
Flightline has smoked the competition in his five starts, winning by an average 12 1/2 lengths. Life Is Good, whom Baffert trained early in his career, has a 11: 9-1-0 record, with four of the wins in Grade 1 races.
“It's a tall order,” Baffert said. “You got these two brilliant horses, Flightline and Life Is Good. And they are 4-year-olds. If they were 3-year-olds it would be different. But they are 4-year-olds, so they're at their max right now. I've never won it with a 4-year-old. I've won it with 3-year-olds and because they were so good they were retired.”
Baffert’s Classic winners are: Bayern (2014); American Pharoah (2015), Arrogate (2016) and Authentic (2020). American Pharoah and Authentic won the Classic in the first two times that Keeneland played host to the Breeders’ Cup. American Pharoah’s victory made him racing’s first “Grand Slam” winner, sweeping the Triple Crown races and the Classic.
Baffert was expected to arrive at Keeneland on Wednesday morning for his first trip to a Kentucky racetrack since the Medina Spirit drug positive after last year's Kentucky Derby, which led to his being banned by Churchill Downs.