Santa Anita: Barnes headlines field of 10 for Grade 1 Malibu
Barnes and Cornucopian, a promising comebacker, headline a field of 10 3-year-olds seeking a first Grade 1 win in the $300,000 Malibu Stakes going seven furlongs on opening day of the Santa Anita classic meet Sunday.
The Malibu and the rest of Santa Anita's opening day program, originally scheduled for Friday, were pushed back to Sunday due to a series of rainstorms expected to hit the area.
Barnes and Cornucopian are both trained by Bob Baffert, a six-time winner of the Malibu. They will be joined in the lineup by stablemates Goal Oriented, Midland Money and Madaket Road for the Hall of Fame trainer.
Barnes returned to form last out, winning by 8 1/4 lengths in the Perryville Stakes (G3) going seven furlongs Oct. 18 at Keeneland. The victory snapped a four-race losing streak for the Into Mischief colt. Previously, Barnes earned minor awards in the Gallant Bloom (G2) at Parx, the H. Allen Jerkens (G1) at Saratoga, both the Santa Anita Derby (G1) and San Felipe Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita.
Barnes enters with a record of 7: 3-1-1 and $557,750 in earnings for Zedan Racing. He will be ridden by José Ortiz, who was also aboard in the Perryville.
Lightly raced Cornucopian will be making his first start since April 27, when he finished second in an allowance/optional claimer going one mile at Aqueduct. Also by Into Mischief, Cornucopian served notice in his debut in February at Oaklawn, romping by 5 3/4 lengths in a six-furlong maiden event. Five weeks later, he tested the Arkansas Derby (G1) going 1 1/8 miles at Oaklawn, dueling on a wicked pace before fading to fourth.
Cornucopian will have the services of top jockey Flavien Prat for the first time. He is owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables and partners.
Among those looking to upend the Baffert quintet are Modus Bestia for trainer Richard Baltas and Berlin Wall for trainer Steve Knapp. Both will be making their stakes debut.
Modus Bestia emerged in the second half of the season for Baltas with consecutive wins sprinting at Del Mar. A $500,000 auction buy as a yearling, the Maclean's Music colt broke his maiden in September going 6 1/2 furlongs at the Del Mar summer meet, then came right back to clear his first-level allowance condition going six furlongs at the Del Mar fall meet Nov. 1.
Modus Bestia posted a career-best 99 Beyer Speed Figure according to Daily Racing Form, putting him squarely in the mix with the Baffert colts. He will be ridden by Edwin Maldonado for Calvin Nguyen and Joey C. Tran.
Berlin Wall earned a shot in the Malibu for Knapp with a 7 3/4-length win sprinting against fellow California-breds in a first-level allowance Nov. 16 at Del Mar. By Practical Joke, Berlin Wall has a record of 5: 2-0-1 with $144,720 in earnings for Thomsen Racing and Thomas E. Halasz. He will be ridden by Tiago Pereira.
The Malibu Stakes is one of six graded stakes set for an 11-race card on opening day at Santa Anita. Also on the program are the La Brea Stakes (G1) for 3-year-old fillies going seven furlongs, the American Oaks (G1) for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/4 miles on turf, the Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes (G2) at 1 1/16 miles on dirt, the Mathis Mile (G2) for 3-year-olds on turf and the San Gabriel Stakes (G3) at 1 1/8 miles on turf.