Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who just lost his top Kentucky Derby
hopeful New Year’s Day to retirement, received a measure of consolation by
winning Thursday’s Grade 1, $301,500
Malibu
on opening day at Santa Anita. The victory did not come from his 9-5 favorite
Flashback, however, but from one of the less-fancied members of his trio, 17-1
shot Shakin It Up, who gave jockey David Flores a going-away present before he
leaves for Singapore.
Owned by Mike Pegram and Dennis Cardoza, Shakin It Up had captured the San
Vicente at this track and seven-furlong trip back in February. Yet bettors
overlooked him here because he hadn’t raced for nine months. The son of Midnight
Lute was last seen checking in a distant fourth in the March 24 Sunland Derby,
and later dropped off the Triple Crown trail. But he was ready to fire in this
prestigious comeback.
As expected, the speedster Distinctiv Passion blazed to the lead and rattled
off fractions of :21 3/5 and :43 1/5 on the fast track. Zee Bros, Baffert’s
third entrant, emerged as his nearest pursuer, and 7-2 second choice Bakken and
Our Double Play were likewise not far off the fierce pace.
In contrast, Flores had Shakin It Up reserved nearly 12 lengths astern in
eighth. The eventual top four finishers — including Central Banker, Zeewat and
Flashback — were all in the latter part of the field early.
Distinctiv Passion was still in front in midstretch, clocking six furlongs in
1:08, but it was apparent that he was reaching the end of his tether. Central
Banker was the first to play his hand, surging to take command between calls.
Then Shakin It Up delivered his well-timed challenge and mowed Central Banker
down by a half-length in a final time of 1:20 2/5, paying $36 to win.
In the process, Shakin It Up earned the Malibu trophy that had eluded his
sire, Midnight Lute, who had finished third in the 2006 running for Baffert.
“He was training great,” the Hall of Famer said. “The way he was training —
he had the back class to win it, but with the layoff (since March 24) and being
in the two hole, and we put David (Flores) on. I knew Zee Bros had a chance to
win it if they didn’t go too fast, but they went too fast.
“I knew he could win it from way off. I thought Flashback would be more in
the middle of it, and he ended up falling way back, but that’s just the way it
goes sometimes.
“It’s a great way to end the day, with that horse winning, Midnight Lute has
showed what a terrific sire he is,” Baffert concluded.
“It’s a great feeling,” Pegram said. “This is one we’ve never won before, and
the Malibu has always been my Christmas present. We finally delivered.
“I was seeing how far back he was, and then I saw him start moving, and at
the three-sixteenths pole, I picked him up and said, ‘We’re going to win this
S.O.B.'”
“I am overjoyed,” Cardoza said. “Mike Pegram is so good for horse racing. He
is a champion of a man and one of the best friends I’ve ever had in life. To do
it with him is so special that I can’t even put it into words. People don’t know
what he does for racing.
“I sat with him on the T.O.C. (Thoroughbred Owners of California) Board for
the last three years, and I will tell you that his whole heart is for the game.
We’ve been through so much, so it was great to do this with him today.
“I want to thank Bob Baffert — he is a wonderful, wonderful trainer,”
Cardoza continued. “I’m very emotional about it all. I thought he was going to
win. I couldn’t believe they gave him no respect (with 15-1 morning-line odds).
I was very proud of him. The horse is great, the connections are great, and I’m
just so proud to have him win today.”
Flores was happy to collect one more trophy before his departure.
“I was a expecting a good pace,” the rider said. “The main thing was to get a
good start and to place myself where he could relax and just wait for the turn,
when I could get after him. And we timed it just right. We closed the year with
a good horse.
“We have decided to move to Singapore (to ride) for six months. It makes
sense and it’s the best thing for us right now. We leave at 10:45 tonight. We’ll
go for six months and then see where we’re at. I start riding on New Year’s Day,
opening day.”
Flores also observed that Santa Anita’s track is playing much better now than
previously.
“The track is coming back at you, but when it hits the horse it breaks up,
not like before when it was clumped up. It’s a big improvement,” Flores said.
Zeewat closed from far back to grab third, just three-quarters of a length
off Central Banker. Flashback, who raced farther back than usual after being
crowded at the start, did his best work late for fourth. Bakken tired to fifth
in his stakes debut, and only third career start. Our Double Play checked in
sixth, followed by Heir of Storm, who was unlucky after attempting to squeeze
through to the inside of Distinctive Passion in the stretch. Distintiv Passion
crossed the wire in eighth, trailed by Syndicated, Zee Bros and the tailed-off
Holy Lute. Demonic was withdrawn.
With this new career high to his credit, Shakin It Up sports a mark of
6-3-1-1, $367,600. Shakin It Up was runner-up to stablemate Super Ninety Nine in
their mutual debut over this track and trip last fall, then broke his maiden by
4 1/2 lengths. He tried stakes company for the first time in the 2012 Hollywood
Prevue, where he came around horses belatedly and was finishing fastest of all
in third. Shakin It Up lost some training time in January, reportedly because of
a foot abscess, but returned triumphant in the San Vicente.
Bred by Pegram in Kentucky, Shakin It Up is the second registered foal from
the unraced mare Silver Bullet Moon, a daughter of two Baffert stars — champion
Vindication and Hall of Famer Silverbulletday. A two-time Eclipse Award winner,
Silverbulletday earned more than $3 million while capturing such Grade 1 events
as the 1998 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and 1999 Kentucky Oaks, Alabama,
Ashland and Gazelle. She has produced the stakes-placed Tice.
Shakin It Up is closely related to stablemate Govenor Charlie, who set a
track record when dominating the Sunland Derby. Govenor Charlie is also by
Midnight Lute and out of another daughter of Silverbulletday, Silverbulletway.
Other descendants of Silverbulletday include stakes winner Crisis of Spirit and
the stakes-placed Mile High Magic.
Silverbulletday hails from the family of Grade 1 winners Forest Secrets,
Fourty Niners Son and Cindy’s Hero. Further back, one finds another Hall of
Famer in Arts and Letters, the runner-up in the 1969 Kentucky Derby and
Preakness who went on to conquer the Belmont Stakes, Metropolitan Handicap,
Travers, Woodward and Jockey Club Gold Cup.
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