The champ is again.
Citizen Bull, the Eclipse Award-winning juvenile male of final yr returned simply as racegoers remembered seeing him by way of the autumn of 2024 when he gained the Grade 3 $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes in his 3-year-old debut on Feb. 1 at Santa Anita.
The win was the seventh straight Robert Lewis Stakes victory and thirteenth general for Corridor of Fame coach Bob Baffert, who summed up Citizen Bull’s efficiency throughout a postrace tv interview by saying, “The champ is again.”
Shortly recovering after bobbling at the beginning, Citizen Bull outsprinted stablemate Rodriguez to the lead, and later dispatched that rival together with a bid from Clock Tower down the backstretch. He then confirmed his class by way of the second flip and within the lane, solely feeling one left-handed strike from the driving crop of jockey Martin Garcia and pulling away to attain by 3 3/4 lengths.
“The ‘Bull’ regarded good coming down (the stretch),” stated Baffert, a six-time Kentucky Derby winner. “It is humorous, you see him and you do not understand that he has these gears. He will not present you that within the morning, however he does have gears.”
Citizen Bull carved out fractions of :23.27, :47.06, and 1:10.99 enroute to finishing a mile on a quick observe in 1:36.71. His time was simply off Nysos‘ clocking of 1:36.65 from final yr. The race, beforehand run at 1 1/16 miles, was shortened to a mile in 2024.
“When he made the lead, he sort of pinned his ears ahead, and he was ready round for firm. He was simply messing round,” Garcia stated. “He had one ear ahead and one ear backwards, meaning you have got loads of horse left.”
As a 2-year-old final yr, Citizen Bull gained the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile offered by TAA in addition to the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes offered by DK Horse in front-running trend.
“Being on a famous person horse like this, it means lots to me,” Garcia stated.
Baffert’s three trainers trainees swept the trifecta within the five-horse race for 3-year-olds. Rodriguez, who fell again to fourth when showing intimidated between rivals down the backstretch as Clock Tower pursued Citizen Bull, got here again on to seize second as soon as guided to the skin. Rodriguez was 2 1/4 lengths forward of present finisher Madaket Street.
“My different horses ran rather well,” Baffert stated. “They’re studying their types, they usually want slightly extra racing. We’re glad and particularly successful the Robert B. Lewis as a result of he was one in all my favourite purchasers of all time.”
The Robert B. Lewis Stakes distributed qualifying factors towards the Might 3 Kentucky Derby offered by Woodford Reserve on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale to the 5 race members. Citizen Bull, who entered Saturday’s race first on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard, maintains his high place, now with 60 factors.
Churchill Downs makes use of qualifying factors to advertise the Derby and as a choice system when the race lures greater than its capability discipline measurement of 20 horses. Primarily based on historic traits, 60 factors comfortably assures a race-ready Citizen Bull of a spot within the Derby discipline.
Clock Tower, a graded winner on turf, and an overmatched Valentines Sweet accomplished the order of end.
Citizen Bull is 4-0-1 in 5 begins with $1,421,000 in earnings. His lone defeat got here when he ran third within the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity in September. Excellent in three routes, Citizen Bull paid $3.80 for a $2 win wager as the favourite within the Robert B. Lewis Stakes.
