Prospect Watch: Baffert, O'Neill 3-year-olds have promise

California-based trainers Bob Baffert and Doug O’Neill have combined to saddle seven Kentucky Derby winners, making the 3-year-olds they’re sending out this time of year some must-watch runners. On Saturday, both barns will send out a handful of promising sophomores at Santa Anita Park. winners of the Kentucky Derby. During the winter, any 3-year-old they condition is worth watching, and on Saturday they’ll both send out a handful of promising sophomores at Santa Anita Park.

Let’s dig in and review Saturday’s 3-year-olds to follow:

Santa Anita Park Race 2

Maiden Special Weight (5 ½ furlongs on turf, 3 p.m. ET)

#3 Keno’d

Reddam Racing, O’Neill, and jockey Mario Gutierrez teamed up to win a pair of Kentucky Derbys with I’ll Have Another (2012) and Nyquist (2016). Can Keno’d emulate his lofty predecessors? A turf sprint at Santa Anita seems like an unusual place to start, but as a son of 2007 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense out of a mare by Arch, Keno’d is bred top and bottom for dirt and might just be using this race as a convenient starting point. He’s trained forwardly on the main track, most recently clocking five furlongs from the Santa Anita starting gate in 1:00 1/5. So regardless of how he performs on Saturday, he should take a step forward if switching surfaces.

#7 Liam’s Pride

O’Neill also has Liam’s Pride ticketed for this dash. As with Keno’d, Liam’s Pride is bred to relish dirt, being a son of 2015 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Liam’s Map out of the A.P. Indy mare Indian Snow, who has already produced Carter Handicap (G1) winner and Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile runner-up Morning Line. Liam’s Pride has been firing off quick workouts on dirt at the San Luis Rey Training Center and will have hot jockey Abel Cedillo in the saddle, suggesting this gray colt is a promising prospect. No matter how Liam’s Pride performs on Saturday, expect him to improve when trying dirt down the road.

Santa Anita Park Race 5

Sham Stakes (1 mile, 4:30 p.m. ET)

#1 Authentic

A well-bred son of Into Mischief, Authentic was purchased for $350,000 as a yearling and arrived with lofty expectations for his Nov. 9 debut at Del Mar. Favored at 3-5 with jockey Drayden Van Dyke in the saddle, Authentic pressed the pace before taking command and edging clear to score by a comfortable 1 ½ lengths. A 50-1 shot in Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 1, Authentic has been training sharply for Baffert, most notably throwing down five furlongs in a bullet :59 4/5 on Dec. 22.Van Dyke will stay in the saddle for the Sham, and a big effort should be on the horizon for this talented prospect.

#4 Azul Coast

The second entrant trained by Baffert, Azul Coast has the pedigree to be an effective miler, so it’s easy to understand why he won his debut going eight panels at Los Alamitos. Sire Super Saver won the Kentucky Derby and is best known as a stallion thanks to 2015 Breeders’ Cup Sprint winner Runhappy, while dam Sky Treasure nabbed the 2015 Nassau Stakes (G2) going a mile on grass. A $320,000 yearling acquisition, Azul Coast is already proven over the Sham Stakes distance and figures to attract plenty of support with hot jockey Joel Rosario in the saddle for the first time. But keep in mind, Van Dyke has jumped ship to ride Authentic, and Baffert almost always debuts his best prospects in sprints, so the fact Azul Coast tackled a mile first time out is a cause for pause.

Tampa Bay Downs Race 3

Maiden Special Weight (6 furlongs, 1:45 p.m. ET)

#4 Accessible

Bred by Juddmonte Farms, Accessible is the first foal out of Riposte, a British-bred daughter of Dansili who won three Grade 2 races running 1 ¼ miles or farther on grass, including the 1 ½-mile Ribblesdale Stakes (G2) at Royal Ascot. Accessible figures to inherit additional stamina from his sire, Tapit, famed for producing three winners of the 1 ½-mile Belmont Stakes. Purchased for $100,000 as a yearling, Accessible will debut on Saturday for trainer Eoin Harty, who strikes at just 5% with first-time starters. Accessible is unlikely to fire his best shot off the bench, especially while sprinting six furlongs on dirt, but pay attention when this youngster gets a chance to stretch out.

#5 Conquest Day

Sold for $170,000 as a 2-year-old in training, Conquest Day doesn’t have the flashiest pedigree at first glance, but there’s actually a lot of potential here. Sire Race Day, a son of Tapit, was a three-time graded stakes winner running long on dirt, while dam Annabird (a daughter of Travers Stakes winner Flower Alley) won four races going a mile or farther. There’s plenty of stamina in Conquest Day’s pedigree, so he might ultimately prove most effective running long, but Race Day is siring 18% debut winners from his first crop, and trainer Jorge Navarro strikes at a 24% rate with first-time starters. Conquest Day rates a strong chance to win on Saturday, with better to come down the road.