Santa Anita: Intrepido looks to bounce back in Ky. Derby prep

Four months ago at Santa Anita, Intrepido announced his presence when taking down the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes for 2-year-olds in his stakes debut. Saturday at Santa Anita, after a troubled trip in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to close out his 2025 campaign, Intrepido returns for trainer Jeff Mullins in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) for 3-year-olds going one mile.

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Intrepido is the 7-2 second choice on the morning line behind 6-5 favorite Desert Gate and just ahead of Plutarch at 4-1. Desert Gate and Plutarch both are trained by Bob Baffert. In the American Pharoah at 1 1/16 miles, Intrepido beat both those rivals by three-quarters of a length. But then in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar Oct. 31, Intrepido had trouble at the start and never was a factor when finishing fifth.

“Lost it all at the gate. It was a terrible start,” Mullins said of the Breeders’ Cup. “He got upset and reared when they grabbed his ear. When you need to be near the lead, you can’t spot them four or five lengths.”

Intrepido, by Maximus Mischief, has worked eight times since Dec. 8 at Santa Anita for his sophomore bow. Two weeks ago, he drilled five furlongs from the gate in 59.4 seconds.

Mullins noted Intrepido is the “same horse” as last season.

“We’ll know a lot more after this race,” he said. “I’m just hoping he shows up like he was before the Juvenile. But when they have this much time off, you don’t know what happens in their head. Hopefully he’s on his game and gives us a good performance.”

The Robert B. Lewis offers 20-10-6-4-2 Kentucky Derby 2026 qualifying points to the top five finishers. Intrepido is no. 5 on the list, with 13 points. Desert Gate has 5 points, and Plutarch has 3.