Bob Baffert brought two for the Del Mar Futurity (G1) and has doubled his onslaught for the $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes (G1) Oct. 3 at Santa Anita Park. Undefeated Hughes will be the star for the American Pharoah, though at this stage of their careers, Baffert-trained non-winners-of-two can also prove dangerous.
"It's the next step, to stretch them out, and it's a step up for the Breeders' Cup to see what they do," Baffert said. "A lot of questions are answered in these races. They all look good breaking their maidens, but the second out is very important."
Hughes is further along than Baffert's other three runners, though the 1 1/16-mile American Pharoah will be his first attempt around two turns. He has won his three races by a combined 18 1/2 lengths, having answered every challenge put to him so far. Baffert debuted Hughes in a June 21 Los Alamitos maiden race at five furlongs, and the son of Into Mischief then conquered the six-furlong Best Pal Stakes (G3) and seven-furlong Del Mar Futurity over the summer.
"He's been good from day one," Baffert said. "We just keep our fingers crossed and keep him healthy—that's the main thing."
Domus is the second-most seasoned of the Baffert quartet. The son of Uncle Mo scored by 5 1/2 lengths in a 5 1/2-furlong Del Mar maiden race and then ran fourth in the Del Mar Futurity. Emancipate, another son of Uncle Mo, has also started twice, breaking his maiden at six furlongs in his second start. This will be his stakes debut.
Imperial Honor, by Honor A.P., has started only once. In that 5 1/2-furlong maiden race Sept. 7 at Del Mar, he blew away the field by 5 1/4 lengths.
Juan Hernandez has ridden all four of Baffert's entrants at some point, and not surprisingly he is sticking with Hughes. Baffert has named Mike Smith on Emancipate, Joel Rosario on Imperial Honor, and Kazushi Kimura on Domus.
"We're excited to see what they're going to do," Baffert said. "We feel good about them going in there, so we just hope they get it done."
Baffert will be attempting his 14th victory in the race, which has gone by other monikers until it was renamed for the 2015 Triple Crown winner Baffert trained.
Doug O'Neill and Antonio Garcia are the only two trainers entering horses against Baffert.
O'Neill nominated five to the American Pharoah, but looked elsewhere for all but Dang Son. Et Al, for example, is still a maiden and will instead run in a turf maiden race on the same card. Dang Son, by Good Magic , won in his second outing, at a mile on turf, and then ran third in the Del Mar Futurity.
Garcia trains California-bred Net Par, whose sire, Pavel , had a host of winners during the Del Mar meeting. Net Par won twice at the stand, all in Cal-bred company. After taking a five-furlong maiden race and the 5 1/2-furlong Graduation Stakes, he finished second in the six-furlong I'm Smokin Stakes, also for state-breds.
The American Pharoah is a Breeders' Cup Challenge race, awarding a "Win and You're In" fees-paid berth to the Juvenile (G1).
Santa Anita Park, Saturday, October 3, 2026, Race 7Entries: American Pharoah S. Presented by DK Horse (G1)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Dang Son (KY) Emisael Jaramillo 122 Doug F. O'Neill 12/1 2 2Hughes (KY) Juan J. Hernandez 122 Bob Baffert 4/5 3 3Net Par (CA) Victor Espinoza 122 Antonio C. Garcia 12/1 4 4Imperial Honor (KY) Joel Rosario 122 Bob Baffert 9/5 5 5Emancipate (KY) Mike E. Smith 122 Bob Baffert 10/1 6 6Domus (KY) Kazushi Kimura 122 Bob Baffert 8/1
