Subsanador narrowly defeats 2 Bafferts to win California Crown

In a thriller of a race, Subsanador under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith got his head down on the wire Saturday to prevail in a three-horse photo with the Bob Baffert-trained duo National Treasure and Newgate to win the first-ever Grade 1, $1 million California Crown at Santa Anita.

The victory clinched Subsanador, a 5-year-old entire bred in Argentina, a place in the Nov. 2 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Del Mar.

Click here for Santa Anita entries and results.

Sent off the 6-1 third choice, Subsanador got a dream trip, saving ground while comfortably tracking pacesetter National Treasure and jockey Flavien Prat.

Entering the stretch, Smith angled Subsanador outside National Treasure, while Newgate had begun his rally from well off the pace. It was then a three-way battle to the wire with Subsanador prevailing by a head while in tight quarters in between horses.

“I knew my horse could handle the pocket.” Smith said, who also won Saturday riding First Peace in the Eddie D (G2). “I knew National Treasure would be the speed, ... so I knew to lay back.”

Trained by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, Subsanador ran the 1 1/8 miles on the fast main track in 1:48.68. National Treasure, trained by Bob Baffert, held second by a nose over stablemate Newgate after setting fractions of 22.89, 47.19, 1:11.26 and 1:36.17.

“Everything went well,” Mandella said. “This was tight, and he was co-oped up a little bit. I didn’t know how he’d react. I was very proud that he kept trying.”

Imported last year from Argentina, where he was a Group 1 winner on turf, Subsanador made his fifth U.S. start and third for Mandella after he had been trained by John Sadler. He was fourth in the San Antonio (G2) in December and second by a head to Newgate in the Santa Anita Handicap (G1) in March. He then was sold privately to Qatar-based Wathnam Racing and transferred to Mandella.

In two previous starts for his new connections, Subsanador was fourth in the Hollywood Gold Cup (G2) in May before shipping to Monmouth Park and winning the Philip H. Iselin (G3) on Aug. 17.

“We’ve never been in a tight situation like that,” Mandella said. “At Monmouth, he never had a straw in his path.”

Subsanador, a 5-year-old horse by Fortify, improved his overall record to 17: 9-2-1. The $600,000 winner’s share pushed his earnings to $1,003,124.

“I’ve got to give Richard Mandella all the credit,” said Smith, who rode Subsanador for the first time in the Iselin. “He’s got this horse so confident, he thinks he owns the place (Santa Anita).”

In addition to National Treasure and Newgate, Baffert also started Muth. The 3-year-old was bet down to the 3-2 favorite and finished last of the six starters.

“We just got beat,” Baffert said. “Muth didn’t bring his A game. He just didn’t fire today. The other two horses ran their hearts out. We just got beat.”

Subsanador paid $14.20, $5.40 and $3.60. National Treasure returned $3.00 and $2.40. Newgate paid $3.80.

The California Crown began as the Goodwood Handicap in 1982. It became the Awesome Again Stakes in 2012 and carried a purse of $300,000 last year.

With the new branding and musical entertainment featuring Shaboozey, the on-track crowd was announced as 21,812, more than double the 10,133 for the Awesome Again card last year. All-sources handle totaled $17,907,293, up 40 percent from the $12,833,172 in 2023. On-track handle was $1,345,794, up 18 percent from last year’s $1,143,281. Average per-person wagering on site dropped 45 percent from $112.83 to $61.70.