Dortmund wins $500K Los Alamitos Futurity by a head for Baffert
Dortmund won the $500,000 Los Alamitos Futurity by a head in a photo finish Saturday, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert his record seventh victory in the Grade 1 race at Los Alamitos.
Ridden by Martin Garcia, Dortmund ran 1 1/16 miles in a track-record 1:40.86, bettering the mark of 1:41.62 set by the Baffert-trained Tiz Midnight in the Bayakoa Stakes two weeks ago. The 2-year-old son of Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown paid $3.20, $2.40 and $2.10 as the 3-5 favorite.
Firing Line returned $3.40 and $2.10. Mr. Z was another nose back in third and paid $2.10 to show as the 5-2 second choice for Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who was trying to become the first trainer to sweep the Starlet and Futurity in the same year. Lukas won the $350,500 Starlet with Take Charge Brandi on Dec. 13.
Baffert joined Lukas as the only trainers to win Grade 1 thoroughbred and quarter horse races at Los Alamitos.
Mr. Z set the pace along with Firing Line. Dortmund rallied outside his rivals in the final eighth of a mile and held on to win the photo finish.
''I asked Martin, `Did you know you won?''' Baffert said. ''He said, `Yes,' and I said, `Why didn't you give me a fist pump to let me know?' I thought he won, but I wasn't sure. It was so close.''
The race is part of the ''Road to the Kentucky Derby'' series, giving Dortmund 10 points toward earning a spot in the starting gate next May at Churchill Downs.
''He learned a lot,'' Garcia said. ''That was the first time he went two turns and usually he's right there (on the lead), but today they broke really fast. I was pretty comfortable. I knew what I had underneath.''
The race was run as the Hollywood Futurity from 1981-2006 and the CashCall Futurity from 2007-13 at now-closed Betfair Hollywood Park in Inglewood.
