BENSALEM, Pa. -- Fans at Parx Racing strained to get a look at California Chrome before Saturday's $1 million Pennsylvania Derby, as the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner made his return to the races after a 105-day layoff.
Once the race began, the only horse in clear view was Bayern.
Bayern, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Martin Garcia, led from the gate to the wire and set a track record over the 1 1/8-mile distance, just as he had in the Haskell Invitational six weeks ago, and he did it again Saturday, finishing in 1:46.96 seconds to win by 5 3/4 lengths over Tapiture.
"It was an easy pace," Garcia said, "and when I asked him to go" -- Garcia just waved his hand.
Bayern has won 5 of 9 starts, all this year, and has earned $1,639,680. The Pennsylvania Derby marked his third graded stakes win since June 7.
California Chrome, who had not raced since a fourth-place dead heat in the Belmont Stakes foiled his quest to sweep the Triple Crown, finished sixth.
His trainer, Art Sherman, said he fully expects to take California Chrome to the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic and said he needed this race after the long layoff, that it would do Chrome a lot of good.
Chrome's connections got $200,000 for winning the Derby and Preakness, and Bayern's connections received $100,000 for winning the Haskell. All payable as soon as the horses got in the starting gate on Saturday.
"He was trying, but there was no chance," said California Chrome's jockey Victor Espinoza, noting the inside post hindered his chances. "You can only hold him so much. At some point, you have to let him run, but when he wanted to run, we had no place to go."
Bayern led through easy early fractions of 24.07 and 47.89 seconds before he put it into another gear.
"That was just a powerful performance," said trainer Bob Baffert, who shipped the horse east but watched from his home in California. Baffert said of Chrome: "He was the target -- we weren't the target."
Bayern, the third-place finisher in the April 12 Arkansas Derby, was the second choice in the betting and paid $9 to win. Tapiture, the fourth-place finisher in the Arkansas Derby, paid $5.80 to place. Candy Boy paid $4.20 to show.
"It's always useful to have a race under your belt," Sherman said. "He's going to be a different horse next time."
In a second $1 million race at Parx Saturday, Untapable rebounded off a fifth-place finish against males in her last start to hold off Sweet Reason for a 1-length victory in the Grade I Cotillion Stakes.
Ridden by Rose Napravnik for trainer Steve Asmussen as the 124-pound co-topweight and 2-5 favorite, Untapable tracked early leaders Jojo Warrior and Cassatt. Untapable, who was never far back, began her winning move rounding the second turn and finally took over at the quarter pole. Untapable was timed in 1:42.71.
She has won 7 of 10 starts and earned $1,934,725. Untapable paid $3.00, $2.40, and $2.10, with Sweet Reason worth $4.00 and $2.80 and Jojo Warrior holding third at $3.60. The order was completed by Little Alexis, Cassatt, Joint Return, Veroe Amore, and House Rules.
In other racing news, three-time Santa Anita Handicap winner Game On Dude has been retired after three consecutive losses. Trainer Bob Baffert told the Daily Racing Form that the 7-year-old gelding's recent defeats aren't fun for the horse and he's been too good to his connections to continue on. Game On Dude won 16 of 34 career starts and had earnings of $6,498,893, including eight Grade 1 victories for his four owners, including Major League Baseball executive Joe Torre. Game On Dude finished fourth in his last start in the Pacific Classic on Aug. 24, beaten 5 1/4 lengths by undefeated Shared Belief. Game On Dude won the Santa Anita Handicap in 2011, 2013 and this year. At Belmont Park Saturday, Artemis Agrotera rallied to beat La Verdad by a head in the $300,000 Gallant Bloom Handicap for fillies and mares at Belmont Park. A 3-year-old filly trained by Mike Hushion and ridden by Rajiv Maragh, Artemis Agrotera easily won her two previous races, including the Ballerina Stakes at Saratoga, by a combined 16 3/4 lengths.
Sports on 09/21/2014