The Factor is all alone at the finish of the Grade 1 Malibu S.

Exactly one year after breaking his maiden in a track record-setting performance at Santa Anita, The Factor rolled to a  3 1/2-length victory in the Grade 1 Malibu S. Dec. 26 at the Arcadia, Calif. track. Incredibly, he 3-year-old colt gave Baffert his first win in the Malibu in his long career.

Breaking sharply from the outside post in the field of ten, The Factor dueled with Centralinteligence and HooryforHollywood down the backstretch. After a half-mile in a very fast :44.61, The Factor put away the other front-runners. He was 1 1/2-lengths clear at the top of the stretch, and really turned it on for jockey Martin Garcia in the final furlong, finishing the seven furlongs in 1:19.89, just .19 seconds off the track record.

Baffert thought his colt had a big race in him despite a couple of sub-par efforts in his last two starts, “The way he had been working he had tipped us off. He showed today what a good horse he is.”

“He was really sharp and ready to win,” echoed Garcia. “Plus, he really likes this track. I decided to let him run and put me wherever he wanted to put me, and look at what he did. I don’t think there was a horse that could beat him today.”

Baffert also commented on his first Malibu victory, “This is a race I've never been able to win, but I'm glad we've finally done it. It’s a great race, some great horses have won it, some great trainers.”

The Factor, a son of War Front owned by George Bolton and Fog City Stable's David Shimmon, has now won five times in nine starts and earned $652,180. His victories include the Grade 1 Pat O’Brien S. at Del Mar, Santa Anita's Grade 2 San Vicente S., and Rebel S. at Oaklawn Park.