Pupil bests teacher as Practical Move wins Los Alamitos Futurity

Trainer Bob Baffert entered Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity with a strong hand, but it was his former pupil, Tim Yakteen, who saddled the 10-1 winner Practical Move.

Baffert had three of the five entrants in the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds, an early prep for the Kentucky Derby, including 2-5 favorite Arabian Lion.

And in the early stages, it looked like his strength in numbers would pay dividends, with Carmel Road, the second choice in the betting, carving out fractions of 46.66 seconds and 1:10.35, while being shadowed by Arabian Lion. 

But the complexion of the race changed rounding the far turn, when Practical Move, a son of Practical Joke out of the Afleet Alex mare Ack Naughty, advanced on the rail under jockey Ramon Vazquez to draw even with Carmel Road as Arabian Lion faded from contention.

Vazquez, who was riding Practical Move for the first time, said he was "really impressed" by his mount.

"He relaxed perfectly and then I had to make a decision turning for home whether to go inside or outside," he told the Los Alamitos publicity team. "When the leader (Carmel Road) drifted out a bit there was an opening. He came right through and gave me a very nice finish.’’

The winner returned $23.20 on a $2 win bet.

The victory was the first in the race for Yakteen, who served as Baffert's assistant before going out on his own. 

"We had a great trip and I’m just thrilled to death with the horse and his effort today," he said. "This one’s really special because Bob is a good friend and we have a great relationship. I hate to take him down, but it ended up that I got the better of him today and he usually gets the better of me. We’re just going to give the horse a breather now right now and regroup and then go from there.’’