A light work tab Thursday included the return of Grade I winner Speed Boat Beach (Bayern) for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. The dark bay, who was last seen winning the 2023 edition of the GI Malibu at Santa Anita, drilled three furlongs on the main track in :36.40 seconds (1/4). It was his first work since Sept. 21.
Owned by Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman–the so-called 'Three Amigos'–Speed Boat Beach has four wins over seven starts and $498,000 in earnings. The Baffert trainee was a two-time stakes winner on turf as a 2-year-old before switching to dirt for three starts last year. As a 3-year-old, the colt was second in the GII Santa Anita Sprint and fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita before winning the Malibu by 1 1/2 lengths under Flavien Prat.
Also working on the comeback trail was Kings River Knight (Acclimation), who dominated the California-bred turf division the previous two seasons. Trained by John Sadler, Kings River Knight drilled three furlongs on the main track in :37.20 seconds.
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