Bob Baffert won his first-ever GII San Diego H. last term with Kaleem Shah's Fed Biz (Giant's Causeway), and has two solid chances to double that total in Saturday's renewal. Shah's Bayern (Offlee Wild) is the 5-2 morning line favorite, but he has some serious questions to answer. Last year's winner of the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, GI Haskell Invitational S. and GII Pennsylvania Derby has finished dead last in both of his starts at four. Backed down to 4-5 against MGISW Private Zone (Mucho Macho Man) in the GII Churchill Downs S. May 2, the bay broke awkwardly, traveled in midpack and came up completely empty in the lane. Things didn't go much better in Belmont's contentious GI Metropolitan H. June 6, as the speedy dark bay went to his nose at the start. He rushed up to press the aforementioned Private Zone–who checked in third–but steadily backed out of it on the bend. Having fired a trio of six-furlong bullets since his last flop–most recently in 1:13 1/5 here July 19–there's a good chance the real Bayern will show up.
Bayern's stablemate Hoppertunity (Any Given Saturday) finished last term with a victory in the GI Clark H. at Churchill in November, and added Santa Anita's GII San Pasqual S. in January. Third behind Shared Belief (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the Feb. 7 San Antonio Invitational S., he returned from a freshening to be third in the GI Stephen Foster H. under the Twin Spires June 13 before missing by just a nose to rail-skimming Hard Aces (Hard Spun) in the GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita last out June 27.
Favored that day was Catch a Flight (Arg) (Giant's Causeway), who scored back-to-back wins in Santa Anita's GIII Precisionist S. May 2 and GII Californian S. May 30.
Sahara Sky (Pleasant Tap), winner of the 2013 Met Mile, is an intriguing entrant who makes his first start beyond eight panels. He was third to Sunday's GI Bing Crosby S. contender Masochistic (Sought After) in the GII Kona Gold S. in Arcadia Apr. 11, and fifth behind that speedster in a slow-paced running of the GI Triple Bend S. June 27.
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