When Future Stars Friday started at the 41st Breeders' Cup, Starlight Racing founder and managing partner Jack Wolf was dressed for success.
Business suit, tie. Everything that a prominent owner should wear at a major event.
Then his horse, Dothraki, finished sixth in the first race of the day at Del Mar.
So, Wolf returned to his nearby hotel and took a nap.
"I'm old," he said with a hearty laugh.
When he returned to the track for the ninth race to watch two of his horses run in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) for 2-year-olds, Wolf was a tad more casual. Goodbye suit and tie. They were replaced by a light purple sweater, shorts, and a white baseball cap.
"I put on some comfortable stuff and here I am," he said.
It's a look that just might resurface at Churchill Downs the first Saturday in May as Citizen Bull, a son of Into Mischief owned by Starlight and its partners in "The Avengers" group, grabbed the lead at the start and motored to a 1 1/2-length victory over Gaming in the Juvenile to give Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert a 1-2 finish in the Nov. 1 showdown at the World Championships.
"I'd love to wear this at the Kentucky Derby," Wolf said.
While the opening jewel of the Triple Crown may be six months away, in one fell swoop Citizen Bull most likely secured the Eclipse Award as the champion 2-year-old male while establishing himself as the very early favorite for the Kentucky Derby (G1).
"It's a little early to think about that," Baffert said. "It will be in conversations, but it's too far away."
Those conversations will almost assuredly mention how Baffert seems well stocked for what could be his first appearance at the Run for the Roses since 2021 after Churchill Downs barred him from the 2022-24 editions due to the drug violation that caused the disqualification of Baffert's 2021 Kentucky Derby winner, Medina Spirit.
"When I saw the early Derby wagering pools and a few of our horses were in it, it really made me feel great," said SF Racing's Tom Ryan, managing partner of the group that owns Citizen Bull and Getaway Car, who finished fourth. "You know there are no more barriers. No more conversations about it anymore. Let's just hope we have one good enough to be there in May."
Though the odds told a different story, Citizen Bull surely looked the part of a Triple Crown contender as he added the Juvenile to an Oct. 5 victory in the American Pharoah Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park, all of which made his 15-1 odds Friday somewhat baffling.
With 30 Kentucky Derby qualifying points earned in the Juvenile added to his 10 from the American Pharoah, Citizen Bull has 40 points and seems a cinch to be a part of the 20-horse Kentucky Derby field if all goes well in the coming months.
"Let's hope he stays healthy and goes forward, and I think he can," Ryan said. "He's out of a Distorted Humor mare (No Joke) and he's by Into Mischief. We know an Into Mischief can go a mile and a quarter and we know what Distorted Humor can do as a broodmare sire, so there are a lot of indicators that this colt is the real deal."
Bred by Robert and Lawana Low in Kentucky and owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Sol Kumin's Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert Masterson, Ryan, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan, it was Citizen Bull's third win in four starts. He was purchased for $675,000 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and added another trophy in the case for the group started by SF, Madaket, and Starlight that was dubbed "The Avengers" as they started buying about two dozen male yearlings and turning them over to Baffert.
The group made its first big splash when it bought and raced the 2020 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and Kentucky Derby winner, Horse of the Year Authentic .
"We have a good team, a good process, and we've been lucky," said Kumin, whose Madaket partners include New York Mets owner Steve Cohen. "When you have good people picking out the horses, do right by the horses and get good people to turn them into racehorses, good things happen. Bob has a big hand in all of this. It's been a lot of fun."
The race became as relaxed as Wolf's attire after the speedy 9-5 favorite, Godolphin's East Avenue, stumbled at the start and was ninth instead of on or near the lead after the opening quarter-mile.
"It's just unfortunate. (Jockey Tyler Gaffalione) said he just went to break so fast it gave out from underneath of him. From there, no one was closing. The race was over. Another day," said trainer Brendan Walsh.
That left Citizen Bull and jockey Martin Garcia challenged by only Baffert stablemate Gaming as they carved out comfortable fractions of :23.44, :47.89, and 1:12.21.
In midstretch, Baffert's horses were 1-2-3 before 61-1 shot Hill Road edged Getaway Car by a neck to take third and spoil a Baffert trifecta.
Final time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:43.07.
"At the three-eighths I said 'These are good horses and they are not going to run them down,'" Baffert said about his trio. "I know the quality was there. The cream always rises to the top. I'm proud of the way they ran."
Bettors were no doubt surprised at how well Baffert's horses ran as besides Citizen Bull's 15-1 odds ($33.80), Gaming, a son of Game Winner owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman, was 6-1, and Getaway Car, a Curlin colt, was 28-1.
"When the odds came out, I don't think the California horses got the respect they deserve because we run on a heavy track. It's demanding, but I know the way my horses were training they would run well," said Baffert after winning the Juvenile a record sixth time and collecting his 19th Breeders' Cup win.
Amo Racing USA's Hill Road, a son of Quality Road making his first United States start and first appearance on dirt, rallied from 10th to finish third, 3 1/4 lengths behind Del Mar Futurity (G1) winner Gaming.
Flanagan Racing's Chancer McPatrick, the 2-1 second choice, was ninth in the field of 10 after a half-mile and finished sixth.
"I thought I was in a good spot, but they ran away from me," said Flavien Prat, who rode the son of McKinzie .
