(Baeza / Photos by Holly M. Smith)
A G1 victory.
On Saturday, Baeza — third in this year’s Kentucky Derby behind his two arch nemesis and sent off at odds of 7-5 — rallied in the final turn with a sudden burst of speed and energy and swept to victory in the G1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racecourse.
Never mind that both Sovereignty and Journalism were not entered in this rendition.
Just know that Baeza  — who jumped from a MSW victory at Santa Anita back in February right into G1 competition with the Santa Anita Derby up next — whipped 9 others and finally was able to celebrate.
Forget the 3rd in the Derby.
Forget the 3rd in the Belmont Stakes.
Remember the Pennsylvania Derby.
At least, for now.
At the start, the field separate into  two distinct flights. There was the pace-setting group — which included So Sandy, David of Athens and Goal Oriented. Then there were the pace-conscious and energy-savings group of Magnitude, Baeza and Gosger.

But in the final turn, and just outside of horses, Baeza began to pass his competitors with ease. By the time the 3YO colt made the top of the stretch, he was firmly in control. And, the son of McKinzie moved off to a convincing lead by the wire.

Trainer John Shirreffs (Baeza):

“We were close in some of the big races,” Shirreffs said. “Today he put it all together. He was tactical. He had a kick. He did everything today.”

“He broke OK,” Shirreffs said. “He looked like he might want to drop back a little bit, but (jockey) Héctor (Berrios) made sure that he stayed connected with the field. He willingly started to move up and get better position. The horse ran beautifully. Héctor rode him perfectly. Great afternoon.”