Havnameltdown topped a Bob Baffert trifecta in Sunday’s $200,000 San Vicente S. (G2) at Santa Anita Park, marking a record 12th time the trainer has won the seven-furlong race for 3-year-olds.
Havnameltdown was quickest out of the gate and never felt any serious pressure from his three foes at any point. He was up two lengths at the half-way point on the turn and maintained that advantage all the way to the wire, with Faustin in second and Fort Warren back in third.
“This horse is built for this distance that’s him, one turn,” Baffert said of the winner. “He will stay one turn. Faustin, he was kind of a grinding slow, he wants to go longer, the other horse [Fort Warren] wants to go longer. You try to get outs into them so they’ll learn and you’ll figure [them out]. The other two are ready to go long.”
Havnameltdown, owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman, previously won the Bob Hope S. (G3) amd Best Pal S. (G3), both at Del Mar during his 2-year-old campaign. His overall record is 4-1-0 in five starts, with earnings of $408,000.
Baffert's first San Vicente winner was Silver Charm in 1997. The future Hall of Famer would go on to win both the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness S. (G1) during his championship season.