Bouyant Baffert-trained colt wins by 11 1/4

HOT SPRINGS — It would be easy to say that he takes the money and runs.

But since Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert is rarely around for these continued bank heists, that isn’t exactly accurate.

In the case of the $300,000 Grade III Southwest Stakes, Baffert was vacationing in Cabo San Lucas in Mexico and watching the race on a computer.

Didn’t matter.

Monday afternoon at Oaklawn Park, with a season high crowd of 25,854 in attendance, Baffert produced another blowout winner as even-money favorite Super Ninety Nine splashed to a wire-to-wire 11 1/4-length victory under Rafael Bejarano.

“I just told him to let him get away from there and do his thing,” Baffert said on a conference call with media after the race. “Turning for home, I could see he had plenty of horse. It’s exciting.”

The runaway outcome continued the stranglehold Baffert and Southern California-based horses have had on Oaklawn’s series of graded stakes races for 3-year-olds.

Since 2008 - a span of 17 races - the West Coast has accounted for 12 victories, including eight for Baffert (all in the past four years and representing about $2 million in purse earnings).

Baffert swept both divisions of the Southwest, the Grade II Rebel and the Grade I Arkansas Derby last year, but never made the trek east, leaving the heavy lifting to able assistant Jimmy Barnes.

That was again the case Monday.

“It’s a good place to have a fast horse,” Baffert said of Oaklawn. “I really like it because they get to show their … it fits with my style of racing.”

Fear the Kitten, the first mount at Oaklawn for jockey Rosie Napravnik, finished a distant second in the Southwest, 2 3/4-lengths ahead of third-place finisher Heaven’s Runway, trained by Joe Martin of Royal.

Channel Isle, Always in a Tiz, Will Take Charge, Big Lute, Brown Almighty, Texas Bling and Officer Alex completed the order of finish.

Super Ninety Nine paid $4, $3.80 and $3. Fear the Kitten paid $11.60 and $6.60. Heaven’s Runway paid $11.60.

Heavy rain about 45 minutes before post time turned the track sloppy for the Southwest, which was lengthened from a mile to a 1 1/16 miles this year.

Super Ninety Nine covered the distance in 1:44.84, and his margin of victory was the second-largest in the 54-year history of the race.

Tarascon won by a record 12 lengths in 1990.

Super Ninety Nine maintained a 1 1/2-length lead through modest fractions of :23.33 for the opening quarter, :47.49 for a half-mile and 1:12.29 for 6 furlongs.

The Kentucky-bred son of Pulpit then accelerated away from Big Lute and Always in a Tiz straightening for home and was 8 lengths clear in midstretch.

“I missed my flight, but as thrilled as I am with this race, I don’t mind waiting until tomorrow,” said Bejarano, who won both divisions of last year’s Southwest. “With the way he broke and speed we had, everything went well. There at the end, my horse still had something left.”

Part of Baffert’s deep 3-year old roster, Super Ninety Nine won for the third time in five lifetime starts to increase his earnings to $266,480.

He also earned 10 points on the new “Road to the Kentucky Derby” scorecard, which will be used if more than 20 horses enter the race.

Super Ninety Nine was purchased for $260,000 at last year’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co’s June sale by Susan Chu, a Taiwan native whose family deals with navigation systems and security devices.

Baffert said Super Ninety Nine is the first horse Chu has owned.

Super Ninety Nine was coming off a front-running 3 1/4-length first-level allowance victory Jan. 31 at Santa Anita, the colt’s first start around two turns.

“He ran back the race he did last time,” Baffert said.

Oaklawn’s Kentucky Derby prep series continues with the $600,000 Rebel Stakes on March 16, a race Baffert has won a record three consecutive years.

Super Ninety Nine may not return, but Baffert - not surprisingly - said he will be represented.

“We’ll definitely have something for the Rebel,” he said.

By the numbers

ATTENDANCE 25,854 (season high) ON-TRACK HANDLE $1,517,842.30 OFF-TRACK HANDLE $2,849,484.63 TOTAL HANDLE $4,367,326.93 SOUTHWEST FACTS WINNER Super Ninety Nine SIRE Pulpit DAM Exogenetic TRAINER Bob Baffert OWNER Tanma Corporation VICTORY MARGIN 11 1/4 lengths

MUTUAL ATTRACTION Nearly $1 million was wagered on the Southwest Stakes - $914,535 - with $422,136 coming in the win-place-show pool.

CLASSIC CLASSIX One winning ticket yielded the second largest payoff since the multi-race wager was introduced in 1986. The record Classix payoff of $818,693.40 was set Feb. 15, 1995. The Classix requires bettors to select the winners of races 3-8.