See Baffert's 6 Breeders' Cup horses, including one surprise

Calling them his “dream team,” trainer Bob Baffert confirmed Monday that Authentic, Improbable and Maximum Security were all pre-entered to race Nov. 7 in the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic.

“Until you get there, until you put a saddle on them, a lot can happen between now and then,” he said. “But right now, today, they look great.”

The only trainer with $30 million in Breeders’ Cup earnings, Baffert also pre-entered futures favorites Gamine in the Filly & Mare Sprint and Princess Noor in the Juvenile Fillies.

Surprisingly, he also put Classier in for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile only two days after a debut win at Santa Anita.

[RELATED – Horses to Watch: Baffert 2-year-old Classier lives up to his name]

Monday’s pre-entry deadline at noon ET came only four days after a New York Times report linked Baffert and Gamine to another positive drug test, this time for a trace of legal medication that was supposed to have been out of her system before she finished third in the Kentucky Oaks.

“I feel really bad for Gamine, because this is the second time she has gone through this,” Baffert said in a telephone interview Monday morning from Southern California. “But you’ve got to let it go through the process.”

In the meantime, she and his other five Breeders’ Cup horses continue to be prepared for their trip to Keeneland with the focus on his three in the Classic.

“I’ve never had three horses like this at the same time,” he said. “I call them the dream team. A trainer would give a lifetime to have these dream horses.”

It will mark the second time that Baffert has had at least three horses in the Classic. He saddled four at Del Mar in 2017, when his colt Collected finished second to Steve Asmussen’s champion Gun Runner.

No better than 4-1 in Europe and barely 3-1 (+325) in the domestic futures at Circa Sports in Las Vegas, 4-year-old Improbable is favored to win this year’s Classic.

“He should be,” Baffert said. “He’s mature. He’s a beautiful horse. He’s doing well. But it’s just like anything. He has to get the trip.”

That will be in the hands of Irad Ortiz Jr., who guided him to victory two starts ago in the Whitney (G1) at Saratoga. Improbable’s third consecutive win came last month in the Awesome Again (G1) at Santa Anita, where Drayden Van Dyke had the ride.

Both carrying Classic odds of at least 5-1, Kentucky Derby winner Authentic and four-time Grade 1 winner Maximum Security come in off second-place finishes as favorites in their last starts. Authentic was outdueled by Swiss Skydiver this month in the Preakness. Maximum Security lost to Improbable in the Awesome Again.

“Authentic is just starting to mature,” Baffert said. “The (Kentucky Derby and Preakness campaign) wasn’t that testing. He hasn’t regressed at all. And the thing about Max is he’s got a lot of heart. That last race set up a little tough for him. He’s come back, and he looks great.”

Luis Sáez again will ride Maximum Security, and John Velázquez will maintain his assignment on Authentic.

Velázquez also gets the call on Gamine in her first race against older rivals. She is best-priced overseas at 5-2 in futures for the seven-furlong Filly & Mare Sprint, making her a strong favorite.

“I think the time will help her with that little break,” Baffert said, referring to the two months between the Oaks loss and the Breeders’ Cup. “One turn. That’s her game right now. Her worst races were two turns. Next year I’ll stretch her out a little bit. She’ll be more mature.”

Before the Oaks, Gamine was a two-time Grade 1 winner during the summer, blowing away the Acorn field by 18 3/4 lengths on the Belmont Stakes undercard before running away by seven in the Test at Saratoga.

Bought by Amr Zedan last spring for $1.35 million and named for his wife, Princess Noor takes a 3-for-3 record on her first trip to race outside California. That is where she has left her closest rivals a combined 17 3/4 lengths behind. Jockey Víctor Espinoza will get the ride again at Keeneland.

“She’s so gifted,” Baffert said. “She’s really gifted.”

Bettors seem to think so, too, making Princess Noor between 3-2 and 2-1 to win the 1 1/16-mile Juvenile Fillies.

Classier is Baffert’s surprise pre-entry. The 2-year-old colt by Empire Maker won by four lengths in his 6 1/2-furlong debut Saturday at Santa Anita. Baffert made the decision to move him up in class in a big way, thrusting him into the two-turn, 1 1/16-mile Juvenile.

“He looks like he could be a superstar,” said Baffert, who has jockey Florent Géroux stepping in after Abel Cedillo rode on Saturday.

Baffert is keenly aware that the focus is not so much on his horses now as it is on the drug positive that came out of the Kentucky Oaks. Despite calling the Times report Thursday “inaccurate,” his lawyer Craig Robertson admitted that Gamine was administered a legal drug that was expected by Kentucky veterinarians to be out of her system four days before the Oaks. But it was not.

Gamine also failed a drug test in Arkansas, leading to her disqualification from an allowance victory May 2. Baffert blamed that on a pain-medication patch that assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes applied to himself before he then put a tongue tie on Gamine.

“She’s a great mare, and she doesn’t deserve this,” Baffert said. “We feel that we followed all the guidelines, but it wasn’t enough. We thought we were far enough out after we made a plan with a veterinarian who prescribed this. We gave ourselves extra time, and it didn't work out.”

Tests on the second half of the split sample still have to be reported before Kentucky stewards decide whether to invalidate Gamine’s Oaks result and call for a giveback of her $120,000 third-place money.

Baffert went on to say that he and the whole racing industry are continuing to learn just sensitive medication rules have become, what with trace amounts leading to red flags.

“I’m all for sensitive testing, but the regulators don’t have the science down yet,” he said. “Now that they’re testing for these really low levels, contamination is going to be out there. I’ve talked to my assistants and veterinarians. We have to be really vigilant on tongue ties and make sure hands are clean.”

In an overarching view, Baffert said he considers himself to be extra careful with the welfare of his horses, especially if they show the slightest sign that they are not race-worthy.

“I consider myself a very conservative trainer,” he said. “These horses are checked and pre-checked. If they go lame, they go to the farm. If they're sore, they go to the farm. We don’t train sore horses.

“But we all have to be even better. I have to be better. I can’t afford any more of this stuff. I’ve been on a bad roll here. It’s ticky-tack stuff, but still I understand we have to be really extra, extra, extra cautious. It can happen to anybody.”

Baffert said he plans to have his horses shipped to Keeneland next Tuesday.