When Plutarch needed time to mature last year, Bob Baffert took an unusual route for a potential Triple Crown candidate. He ran him on the turf, "just to get some races into him." Baffert and his staff continued to work with the royally bred colt. Still a work in progress, Plutarch took a huge step forward Feb. 7 at Santa Anita Park by winning the 1-mile Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) on the dirt.
Baffert entered three in the Lewis, a race he has won a record 14 times, including the past eight consecutive years. Desert Gate had the best credentials of the Baffert trio and went off as the 6-5 favorite. Desert Gate drew the rail and missed the break.
"He's just so one-dimensional, and he's got to have the lead," Baffert said. "When he missed the break, I knew there was no chance after that."
Secured Freedom, a recent impressive maiden winner for trainer Tim Yakteen and the 3-1 second choice, also got away a step slow from the outside post. The five runners in between hustled forward, including Plutarch, who had never before led early. Intrepido, winner of last year's American Pharoah Stakes (G1) over Desert Gate and Plutarch, set the first fraction of :23.49 for a quarter-mile, but Plutarch surged forward to take over and was responsible for the other internal times, including a half-mile in :47.65.
"I felt he broke very alertly for me and put me in a great spot," jockey Florent Geroux said. "When I asked him to move along the lane, he responded really well."
Intrepido never let Plutarch get too far ahead, Geroux attributing part of that to Plutarch waiting "a little bit." Either way, both runners gamely stuck to their task. They turned for home still battling each other, and while Intrepido tried to pass Plutarch, the Baffert colt refused to let him by. Plutarch edged farther away to win by three-quarters of a length, the largest margin he had over Intrepido for the entire race, and he stopped the timer in 1:37.02.
Secured Freedom recovered from his start enough to come flying late, nosing out Desert Gate for third.
The Lewis offers eligibility points to the May 2 Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs. Plutarch earned 20 to add to the 3 he earned when third in the American Pharoah. Intrepido added 10 to his previously earned 13 points, while Secured Freedom earned 6 and Desert Gate added 5 to the 4 he received from the American Pharoah. Cherokee Nation, Baffert's third entrant and still a maiden, finished fifth, earning 2 points, plus 1 point he received when fifth in last year's Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2).
Road to the Kentucky Derby points standings
Baffert praised the efforts his team has made with Plutarch, a son of Into Mischief who races for the Coolmore connections of Susan Magnier, Derrick Smith, and Michael Tabor.
"We put in so much time with this horse—he was so immature," Baffert said. "He kind of reminds me of Authentic in a way, where he's just slow developing, but he's getting better every week. He's got a great mind. He'll figure it out."
It took Plutarch five tries to earn his maiden last year, though he always showed promise, running second in the Del Mar Juvenile Turf Stakes (G3T), third in the American Pharoah, and third in the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes. After those three stakes placings, Plutarch went off as an even-money favorite in a Nov. 30 maiden event on the turf at Del Mar and finally posted that initial victory, by an emphatic 4 1/2 lengths.
Baffert had tried a litany of top jockeys on Plutarch, and for the Lewis he turned to Geroux.
"I called Flo the other day—he was thinking about coming out here," Baffert said. "I told him, 'Come out here. I've got one I can put you on. I think he's a really good colt.' I've had a lot of luck with Flo. We've done well in Kentucky. He's sharp; he's a top rider."
Added Geroux, "When I came here, that was what I was expecting, to be honest, to find a Derby horse. Bob is an amazing trainer, and he has won the Derby six times. So the record book speaks for itself. To have the opportunity to ride for him is just a big honor."
Plutarch was bred in Kentucky in the name of Orpendale/Chelston/Wynatt and is out of 2015 Eclipse Award champion 3-year-old filly Stellar Wind. That daughter of Curlin made her reputation in Southern California under the tutelage of John Sadler until M.V. Magnier purchased her late in her racing career for $6 million at the 2017 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. Stellar Wind made one final start, for trainer Chad Brown under the same ownership as Plutarch, before being retired. She has produced three winners from four starters.
Plutarch follows Commandment and Renegade, who earlier Saturday won the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, as the third 2026 stakes winner sired by Into Mischief, seven times the leading general sire. The stallion is standing the 2026 season for $250,000 at Spendthrift Farm near Lexington.
