The champion is back.
Citizen Bull, the Juvenile man from the ECLIPSE Award last year, returned to Santa Anita.
The victory was the seventh Robert Lewis Stakes victory and the 13th overall for the trainer of the Hall of Fame, Bob Baffert, who summarized Citizen Bull's performance during a post -public television interview by saying: “The champ is back.”
Citizen Bull recovered quickly after Citizen Bull Stroblemate Rodriguez brought the top and later sent this competition together with a bid of the clock tower over his back. Then he showed his class in the second round and on the trail and only felt a left -handed strike from the riding fruit of Jockey Martin Garcia and withdrew to achieve 3 3/4 lengths.
“The 'bull' looked good (the route),” said Baffert, a six -time winner of the Kentucky Derby. “It's entertaining, you see him and you don't notice that he has these gears. He won't show you that in the morning, but he has equipment.”
Citizen Bull has cut fractures of: 23.27 ,: 47.06 and 1: 10.99 on the way to a mile in a quick track in 1: 36.71. His time was with Nysos' clock of 1: 36.65 compared to last year. The race previously running at 1 1/16 miles was shortened to a mile in 2024.
“When he took the lead, he put his ears forward and waited for society. He only played around,” said Garcia. “He had an ear forward and an ear back, which means that they still have a lot of horse left.”
As a 2-year-old, Citizen Bull won the Fanduel Breeders' Cup Juvenile, which was presented by Taa and the American Pharoah Stakes in the first class of DK Horse in the front list fashion.
“It means a lot to me on a superstar horse like this,” said Garcia.
The three coaches of Baffert swept the trifecta in the five-horse race for 3 year olds. Rodriguez, who fell back to fourth place when he was intimidated between the rivals in the background when Clock Tower Citizen followed Bull, came back to reach second place when he was led to the outside. Rodriguez was 2 1/4 length before the show -finisher Madaket Road.
“My other horses went very well,” said Baffert. “You learn your styles and need a little more race. We are elated and especially win Robert B. Lewis because he was one of my favorite customers of all time.”
The Robert B. Lewis missions distributed the five-racing participants presented by Woodford Reserve from Woodford Reserve on May 3 from Woodford Reserve to a scale of 20-10-6-4-4-2. Citizen Bull, who entered the Kentucky Derby ranking on Saturday at the race on Saturday, retains his top position with 60 points.
Churchill Downs uses qualified points to promote the derby, and as a preference system if the race attracts more than its capacity field size of 20 horses. Based on historical trends, 60 points insures a racial citizen bull of a place in the derby area.
Clock Tower, a graded winner on lawn, and an oversubscribed Valentine's day sweetness completed the order of the finish.
Citizen Bull is 4-0-1 in five starts with $ 1,421,000. His lonely defeat came when he finished third in the DEL Mar -Futurity in class 1 in September. Citizen Bull perfect in three routes and paid 3.80 US dollars for a profit of 2 US dollars as a favorite in Robert B. Lewis Stakes.
