Eight Rings to get started in Oaklawn's Bachelor Stakes

Among the traveling contingent of Santa Anita Park-based horses arriving Tuesday to Oaklawn Park was Eight Rings, a Grade 1 winner at age 2 who hasn't been seen in the afternoon since finishing sixth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

Trainer Bob Baffert confirmed the son of Empire Maker is pointing to Oaklawn's $100,000 Bachelor Stakes on April 25 for his 3-year-old debut.

Campaigned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables and other partners in a group that has lightheartedly referred to itself as "The Avengers," Eight Rings became a high-level winner around two turns when taking Santa Anita's American Pharoah Stakes (G1) last September.

In the Bachelor, he'll be tasked with a shorter distance (six furlongs) than he last worked on April 4 (seven furlongs).

Eight Rings has breezed quickly, with four of his last five drills bullets at their distances. That includes a six-furlong March 4 work from the gate in 1:11.80, not far off the sort of time he'd need to compete for a Bachelor Stakes victory.

Overall, Eight Rings is 2-0-0 in four starts. As an all-or-nothing type, he dazzled on debut, breaking his maiden at Del Mar on Aug. 4 by 6 1/4 lengths. In addition to the Breeders' Cup, his other loss came when he lost jockey Drayden Van Dyke at the start of the Sept. 2 Del Mar Futurity (G1). The colt bounced back from there to win the American Pharoah.

Nominations for the Bachelor close Thursday.

One other known probable is Steve Asmussen-trained Echo Town, a local allowance winner. Asmussen has won the Bachelor the last two seasons with Mitole (2018) and Nitrous (2019). The current state of racing -- and Oaklawn's status as the only track offering stakes in many divisions -- will make it a tough task to three-peat.