Dortmund showed steady improvement in each of his first four races, but on Saturday at Santa Anita Park he delivered the eye-opening performance his fans had been waiting for in the Grade 2, $400,000 San Felipe Stakes.
The chestnut colt by 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Big Brown shrugged off a challenge from highly regarded stakes winner Bolo at the top of the stretch and powered clear to an easy victory by 1¼ lengths as the 4-to-5 favorite.
Dortmund improved to 5-for-5 in his career with victories in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos Futurity and Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes also on his burgeoning resume. He has bankrolled $689,400 with five wins in as many starts for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert and owner Kaleem Shah.
Dortmund's two previous victories both came by a head over game rival Firing Line in the Robert B. Lewis and the Los Alamitos Futurity. He showed plenty of courage in both of those wins, but in the San Felipe, Dortmund showed impressive acceleration -- the type of finishing speed to put away a challenger in just a matter of a few strides.
"Coming into this race he was doing much better than he was last time. He's starting to fill out, getting stronger," Baffert said. "As long as he stays healthy, the farther they go, he's just getting cranked up there at the end, so that was pretty exciting."
Victor Espinoza, the rider of Bolo, said he thought he had a big chance to win at the top of the stretch, but Dortmund proved too good.
"Dortmund is a great horse, no doubt about it," said Espinoza, regular rider of 2014 Horse of the Year and dual classic winner California Chrome. "Just for a moment there at the top of the stretch, I thought we could beat him, but he's too tough."
Prospect Park rallied from sixth early to overhaul Bolo by a half-length for second as the 4-1 second betting choice. Grade 2 winner Lord Nelson was another 3½ lengths back in fourth. Ocho Ocho Ocho, winner of the Grade 3 Delta Downs Jackpot Stakes, finished a nonthreatening eighth in the 10-horse field.
Baffert said Dortmund will remain in Southern California and target the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 4. The talented colt set a solid pace through an opening half-mile in :46.98 and still finished strong with his final sixteenth of a mile in :06.14. Dortmund completed the 1 1/16-mile San Felipe in 1:41.65 under Martin Garcia.
"It looks easy because he's such a good horse and when you have a horse that's good, he makes it look easy," Garcia said. "I'm always confident because I know how good he is.
"I don't think there will be any difference for him when we add more distance; he can go any distance. It won't be a problem for him."
Shah purchased Dortmund through bloodstock agent Donato Lanni for $140,000 at the 2014 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale of two-year-olds in training. Bred in Kentucky by Emilie Gerlinde Fojan, Dortmund was produced by Grade 3-placed stakes winner Our Josephina, by Tale of the Cat.
With 70 points, Dortmund has a spot in the Kentucky Derby locked up.
