Speightstown’s dynamic 3-year-old colt Charlatan turned in another stunning performance Saturday at Santa Anita Park in what was just the Bob Baffert trainee’s second lifetime start (VIDEO).
A graded stakes, perhaps the April 4 Santa Anita Derby (G1), is on the horizon for the flashy chestnut, who won Saturday’s one-mile contest by 10 1/4-lengths without being asked in the least. The final time of 1:36.24 was substantially better than the winner of the Beholder Mile (G1) – 1:37.33 – posted a half-hour later.
“This track is getting heavier — you can tell it’s got a lot of moisture in it — so that time’s pretty good,” Baffert told TVG. “He got a lot out of that. He’s a big, strong horse. He just kept galloping out strong. We know the talent is there.”
Baffert also told Santa Anita Publicity, “We don’t know if we’ll run here in the Santa Anita Derby, because nobody’s really sure when anything is going to happen. Churchill is saying they’re not going to run the Derby without the people there, so I’m hearing maybe June or in September.”
Charlatan was bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbreds, who owns the colt with SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Frederick Hertrich III, John D Fielding and Golconda Stables. He is out of the multiple graded stakes winner Authenticity.
