Imagination outduels Wine Me Up by head in bumpy San Felipe
Although his top 3-year-old didn’t run, trainer Bob Baffert was still well in front of the competition as his Imagination, in a stirring stretch duel, outran stablemate Wine Me Up in Sunday’s Grade 2, $300,000 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita, prevailing by a head while getting 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.55.
Ridden for the first time by Frankie Dettori, Imagination gave Baffert his record ninth win in the San Felipe, a traditional prep for the Santa Anita Derby (G1) on April 6.
The race that had only four starters was intended to be worth 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby2024 qualifying points to the top five finishers. With Imagination (4-5) andWine Me Up (8-5) ineligible for the Derby because of Baffert’s suspension byChurchill Downs, only third-place Mc Vay (9-1) trained by John Shirreffs andfourth-place Scatify (3-1) from the John Sadler barn collected points. Mc Vaygot 15 to bring his total to 19. Scatify, who walked across the finish line in last, added 10 to total 16. Neither hasenough points yet to be assured of a Derby berth.
The race was certainly not without drama, as Scatify, ridden by Héctor Berrios, broke from the rail and was in very tight quarters behind Wine Me Up in the run to the first turn. Berrios hit the brakes as he nearly clipped heels of both Wine Me Up and Imagination to his outside. Stewards spent three minutes after the race looking at the incident but made no changes to the order of finish.
“He broke out, and we went to the clubhouse turn,” Dettori said. “The guy behind me (Scatify) struck into me. My horse got frightened, and I took him back to get him wide to get him to relax and get him back into the race.”
“Frankie said down the backside his horse got a little rank,” Wine Me Up’s jockey Juan Hernández said. “That’s why he got close to me, but I said, ‘No problem. We are riding for the same barn.’ ”
“The 1 horse (Scatify) came in on Imagination,” Baffert said. “It scared him, and he took off with him. After the horse bumped him, it took him way off the rail and slowed him down.”
Wine Me Up went on untroubled and held a narrow advantage turning up the backside but immediately was engaged by Imagination. The two raced as a team from the three-eighths pole to the wire with neither giving an inch in a thriller.
“He fought a great duel,” Dettori said. “He was full of heart.”
Imagination, in his first stakes engagement, paid $3.80 and $2.40 with no show wagering.
“I think he is a slow developer because of the way he’s bred,” Baffert said. “He’s not a sprinter, so I wasn’t going to bring him back that quick. He could’ve used an extra week, but you have to run these horses when you can. We’re trying to develop these horses, so it was good for both of them.”
A $1.05 million Keeneland September yearling purchase owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Bat Masterson, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovan and Tom Ryan, Imagination was a one-mile maiden winner at Santa Anita two starts back Jan. 1. He was most recently a close second in a one-mile allowance Feb. 11.
With the winner’s share of $180,000, Imagination increased his earnings to $256,800.
Wine Me Up, second to Nysos in the Robert B. Lewis (G3) at one mile Feb. 3, paid $2.60 to place after finishing 6 3/4 lengths in front of Mc Vay.
“My horse showed a lot of heart. I have no excuses today. We just got beat by a better horse,” Hernández said. “It is what it is. He beat me, but I’m really happy with my horse. ... He was trying to come back. A couple more jumps, and I would have gotten that horse.”
“Wine Me Up ran tough,” Baffert said. “It’s like watching the 49ers’ Super Bowl game. Unfortunately, someone has to lose, but I’m proud of them both. They both showed up. That’s all you can ask for.”
Fractions for the race were 23.51, 47.04, 1:11.51 and 1:37.86. It was the fifth-slowest San Felipe in the 73 times it has been run at its current distance.
The San Felipe originally was scheduled for Saturday, but it was postponed because of the forecast of steady rain that did fall on Southern California.
