Eight Rings and jockey John Velazquez win the Grade I, $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes, Friday, September 27, 2019 at Santa Anita Park, Arcadia CA.© BENOIT PHOTO
Bob Baffert was in a familiar place Friday, his home-away-from-home, Santa Anita Park, specifically the Winner’s Circle.
The two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer sent out Bast to win the Chandelier Stakes by a neck after a captivating stretch duel with 11-1 Comical, then 90 minutes later watched Eight Rings pummel eight foes with a front-running, six-length romp in the American Pharoah Stakes.
Each event was a Grade I, Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Race, giving the winner a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 1 and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 2, respectively, which will be run at Santa Anita for a record 10th time.
John Velazquez rode both horses for Baffert, breaking a tie with fellow Hall of Fame member Jerry Bailey for most graded stakes victories by winning the Chandelier. It was No. 661 for Johnny V. as he is known to intimates in the racing world.
Eight Rings, who lost all chance in the Del Mar Futurity when Drayden Van Dyke was unseated in a bumping incident shortly after the start, wore blinkers in the American Pharoah.
“I think they helped a lot,” Baffert said Saturday morning at a bustling Clockers’ Corner, adding that both youngsters came out of their races in good order, and it’s on to the Breeders’ Cup with Velazquez retaining the mounts.
“The blinkers kept Eight Rings a little more focused,” Baffert added. “Bask was blowing after the race and really needed it. She had to work hard, but Eight Rings looked really good.”
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