Wynstock gives Bob Baffert 9th win in Los Alamitos Derby

Los Alamitos certainly brings out the best in Wynstock.

No better than sixth in three previous tries this year after
wrapping up 2023 with a 13-1 upset in the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) on Dec.
16, the son of Solomini responded with a nose victory over stablemate Cornell
and three other 3-year-olds in the $100,000 Los Alamitos Derby on Saturday.

Click here for Los Alamitos entries and results.

Wynstock, the 4-1 third choice, provided Hall of Fame
trainer Bob Baffert with his eighth consecutive Los Alamitos Derby victory and
ninth in the last 10 years.

Owned by track owner Dr. Ed Allred and Los Alamitos Racing
Association vice president Jack Liebau, Wynstock collected his third win in
eight starts and pushed his earnings to $243,740. He completed 1 1/8 miles in
1:50.51.

The New York-bred who was purchased for $700,000 at the OBS
sale in April 2023 also made some history becoming the first horse to win both
the Los Alamitos Futurity, which was offered at Hollywood Park from 1981 to 2013,
and the Los Alamitos Derby, which was run at Hollywood as the Swaps Stakes from
1974 to 2013, since the two races have been run at the Cypress, Calif., track.

Two horses previously completed the Swaps-Futurity double. Baffert-trained
Captain Steve won the 1999 Hollywood Futurity and 2000 Swaps, and Shared Belief
captured the final Hollywood Futurity in 2013 and the inaugural Los Alamitos
Derby in 2014.

Unable to outrun heavily favored Tapalo for the early lead,
Wynstock was second early on under jockey Kyle Frey but dropped back to fourth
before rallying on the inside to edge Cornell, the 3-1 second choice.

Wynstock returned $10.80 and $4. Cornell paid $3.40 to place.
There was no show wagering.

Seeking to win beyond seven furlongs for the first time in
his career, Tapalo, who won the Lazaro Barrera Stakes by seven lengths last
month at Santa Anita, opened up a sizable lead through quick fractions. He led
by seven after three-quarters of a mile in 1:09.63, but he had nothing to offer
in the final quarter-mile. The Tapiture colt wound up fourth as the 7-10
choice, a nose behind 6-1 shot Curlin’s Kaos. Kamaina Cruiser, the longest shot
in the field at 18-1, completed the order of finish.

Baffert wasn’t optimistic about Wynstock’s chances after he
was outrun early.

“I thought his only chance was to be on the lead,’’ he said.
“But he runs well here, because he likes a firmer surface. “He couldn’t make
the lead, so (Frey) just grabbed him, and (Tapalo) was out there by himself. I
knew Cornell was going to make a run. I thought Cornell was going to cut the
corner down the stretch, but he stayed outside, and (Tapalo) was drifting out
on him.

“I saw a horse flying on the inside and I thought son of a
gun, and then I realized, oh, that’s my horse. He came back.

“We know Wynstock has a lot of talent. It’s mental with him.
I’m just happy we won and ran 1-2. It’s nice to win for Doc. I’m a big fan of
his. It’s nice to hang with him and reminisce and tell old stories.’’

Frey, who has been aboard for all three of Wynstock’s
victories, said he just let the chestnut settle early.

“I was hoping he would have something for the stretch,
because he ran so well here before when he won the Futurity,’’ Frey said. “I
stayed inside, because I didn’t want to break his momentum.’’