Baeza Impresses in Pennsylvania Derby Victory
By: Sean Collins
C R K Stable and Grandview Equine's Baeza drew praise throughout the spring as one of the top 3-year-olds in America thanks to his strong performances against classic winners Sovereignty and Journalism , but was always the bridesmaid to one of those two—or both—in four straight starts. With their absence Saturday, the pressure was on to finally earn a first victory against winners, not to mention at the grade 1 level.
"This was a prove-it day," Shirreffs said. "He did."
Baeza's proof of talent came to fruition through a fantastic ride by jockey Hector Berrios, who has ridden the McKinzie colt in five of his eight starts. Breaking toward the rear of the 10-horse field, Berrios urged Baeza to stay attached to the back of the group and not fall too far behind.
Gradually moving up down the backside as So Sandy set fractions of :23.01, :46.63, and 1:10.51, Berrios called upon Baeza at the three-eighths pole and immediately got a response.
"Once he responded and I saw the other horses, I said 'It's our win. Our race,'" Berrios said.
Baeza cruised into contention and approached the new leader, Goal Oriented , at the quarter pole before moving away in the stretch. Although racing on his left lead until the eighth pole, victory was never in doubt as he hit the line 2 1/4 lengths clear of a closing Magnitude . Goal Oriented held for third.
Baeza completed 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.03 and paid $4.80 to win as the favorite. All-sources handle came in at $17.8 million, second highest in track history behind the $18.8 million that was wagered on the 2022 Pennsylvania Derby card.
PUCA PRODUCES THIRD STRAIGHT GRADE 1 WINNER
Baeza's victory was also a monumental one for his dam, Puca . The Big Brown mare has now produced three consecutive grade 1-winning foals after Mage won the 2023 Kentucky Derby and Dornoch won the 2024 Belmont Stakes (G1) and Haskell Stakes (G1).
All three colts were bred in Kentucky by Robert Clay's Grandview Equine, who co-owns Baeza. The star broodmare, who was named 2024 Broodmare of the Year by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association, is set to be offered by John Stewart's Resolute Racing at Fasig-Tipton's The November Sale in Lexington Nov. 3. Grandview sold the mare at the 2023 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale to Resolute for $2.9 million.