Baffert on Coliseum: 'We'll stretch him out' for next start

With the victory by Mucho Gusto in Saturday’s Grade 3, $100,000 Bob Hope Stakes, coming five days after the win by Chasing Yesterday in the counterpart-for-fillies $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes, Hall of Trainer Bob Baffert has two legs up on a sweep of the four stakes for 2-year-olds during fall racing at Del Mar. He also scored big on the Bob Hope undercard with debut winner Coliseum.

Coliseum, a homebred son of Tapit for Godolphin LLC of Sheikh Mohammed al Maktoum of Dubai, wired the field in the seven-furlong opener Saturday piloted, as was Mucho Gusto, by Joe Talamo.

“(Coliseum) has been tough to work with, he wants to run off in his works and it’s been hard to get him to relax,” Baffert said. “Now we’ve got that race out of the way and we’ll stretch him out. I’m happy for Joe. He has put in a lot of time and work with him. He’s a good horseman and he gives me a lot of good feedback.”

Although Baffert has the leg up on sweeping the juvenile stakes, he’s not going to do it.

What’s that you say? Baffert, who has hundreds of 2-year-olds, many of the highest quality, year after year. Baffert, who showed off three, if you count Saturday’s first-race winner Coliseum, potential show stoppers in the last three baby races he entered. Baffert, who saddled 11 maiden race winners among 13 victories during the summer meeting at Del Mar and has, by his guess, 17 2-year-old wins this year.

That’s true. But whereas Baffert is an overpowering force in 2-year-old races on dirt, it’s not the same on turf. And the two remaining 2-year-old stakes are both grassy miles – the Grade 3, $100,000 Jimmy Durante for fillies next Saturday and the Grade 3, $100,000 Cecil B. DeMille the following day.

Baffert has Der Lu, a first-out winner here last August, nominated for a grass debut in the Jimmy Durante. He doesn’t have any nominees for the Cecil B. DeMille.

So, while other trainers relish the thought of 2-year-old stakes without Baffert monsters to fight, he can savor the recent successes and plot for bigger ones down the road.

Chasing Yesterday is headed for the Starlet and Mucho Gusto the Futurity at Los Alamitos.

“My barn is all younger horses, and it’s nice when they’re running well,” Baffert said. “Our clients get excited about these 2-year-old races and derbies, but usually when they get older their value is at stud and they leave.

“There are challenges. Things can go wrong. But that’s what we do and it’s fun.”