The 'other' Baffert, Game Winner, prevails in Del Mar Futurity

The late money poured in on trainer Bob Baffert's "other" contender in Monday's Grade 1, $350,000 Del Mar Futurity, and Game Winner responded by doing the late running.

Wheeled back from an Aug. 18 debut victory, the son of Candy Ride passed by stablemate Roadster for second in the stretch, then caught front-running Rowayton in announcing himself as a juvenile colt to know.

"He drew well, and he came out of there really well," Baffert said after the 1 1/2-length score. "I was surprised he won first out. I thought, if I can get another race into him, then I don't have to train him too hard for a two-turn race."

Baffert recorded his 14th victory in the Futurity, which before Monday he had won most recently with Klimt in 2016. The Hall of Famer also used this race in 2014 to break eventual Kentucky Derby winner American Pharoah's maiden.

A $110,000 son of Candy Ride, Game Winner ran to seven furlongs in a final time of 1:23.18 with jockey Mario Gutierrez -- not a normal rider by any means for Baffert horses -- in the irons.

"I got lucky enough for them to put their eyes on me," Gutierrez said. "I listened to (Baffert) -- to his instructions -- and everything went the way he told me.

"...I think the longer he goes," Gutierrez said of Game Winner, "he'll perform better."

First, it took a big effort just to catch the pace setter. Rowayton dashed up the back stretch to a five length lead and cut fractions of 22.53 and 45.35. His inability to switch leads in the stretch, in part, allowed Game Winner to move past.

Roadster, hyped as Baffert's top 2-year-old entering the Futurity, hit the wire third as the 3-5 favorite but by no means embarrassed himself with the performance, only two lengths back at the wire. Still, jockey Mike Smith said, "I’m at a loss for words. I thought he’d run a whole lot better.”

At 4-1 on the morning line, Game Winner left the gate at 8-5 and returned $5.20 to win.

"We've been watching this race for 40 years," owner Gary West said, standing beside his wife, Mary, "and this is the first horse we've actually had in the race. To win on your first try is a pretty special thing."

As for the whole "other" Baffert phenomenon, the trainer said, “We’re an equal opportunity barn and sometimes I just throw them in there when they’re doing well and they even surprise me.”

All three of the Futurity's top finishers appear eligible to move on to the Sept. 29 American Pharoah Stakes, formerly known as the FrontRunner, at Santa Anita Park. It offers both 2019 Kentucky Derby qualifying points and a "Win and You're In" spot for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, also run at Churchill Downs.

The waters will deepen, of course. Connections to Instagrand, a son of Into Mischief who's 2-for-2, passed on the Futurity in favor of waiting for the American Pharoah. That colt, who has won his races by a combined 20 1/4 lengths, closed over the weekend as the 7-2 favorite in pari-mutuel future wagering for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile.