Del Mar: Citizen Bull faces only 2 rivals, wins Shared Belief

Citizen Bull, the 2024 champion juvenile male, earned a nice paycheck for what looked like a one-mile workout Sunday against only two rival 3-year-olds at Del Mar. He went to the front early and then just coasted to a 5 1/2-length victory in the 51st edition of the $125,000 Shared Belief Stakes at Del Mar.

Owned by a big partnership led by SF Racing, Starlight Racing and Madaket Stables, Citizen Bull was entered with four other runners. But two morning scratches reduced the field, so trainer Bob Baffert and rider Juan Hernández enjoyed an easy win in the two-turn race.

Click here for Del Mar entries and results.

“He was back to a distance he really loves,” Baffert said. “The Breeders’ Cup (Dirt) Mile is probably where we will be pointing. We were trying to get him back to form after what he went through. I told Juan come back with bugs on your teeth. It was good to see him put on a show today. You saw the champion Citizen Bull today.”

Leading the whole way, the Into Mischief colt won with a time of 1:35.12 on the fast main track after setting the pace with 22.39, 45.88, 1:09.96 and 1:22.22 fractions.

“He’s a good horse,” Hernández said. “He broke well out of the gate. He gave me speed at the three-quarter pole, and that was it. When he recovers well from this race, I think he can go anywhere.”

The purse for the race was $125,000, and Citizen Bull earned $75,000 of it, bringing his career winnings to $1,556,100. He has won 5 of 9 starts including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November at Del Mar.

Smooth Cruisein finished second, nine lengths better than last-place finisher Gaming.

Off at 2-5, Citizen Bull returned $2.80 for a $2 bet.