Recently crowned Eclipse champion Citizen Bull (Into Mischief), who cemented his 2-year-old championship with a win in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile last November, opened his sophomore campaign in similar fashion with a commanding victory in the GIII Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita Saturday. The 4-5 favorite, facing just four rivals, led home a one-two-three finish for trainer Bob Baffert and gave the Hall of Fame trainer his seventh straight win in the Lewis and his 13th overall victory in the race named for the late owner.
“The champ is back,” Baffert said from the winner's circle Saturday. “The 'Bull' looked good coming down [the stretch]. It's funny, you see him and you don't realize that he has those gears. He won't show you that in the morning, but he does have gears.”
Citizen Bull bobbled slightly at the break, but recovered quickly and took the lead into the first turn. Racing keenly down the backstretch, the champion was in control through a quarter in :23.27 and a half in :47.06. Rodriguez (Authentic), the 7-5 second choice coming off a 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy maiden victory Jan. 4, was chasing his pacesetting stablemate while between foes, but drifted further off the pace to find clear running. He rushed up four wide on the turn and attempted to reel in Citizen Bull, briefly looking like a threat at the top of the lane, only to have Citizen Bull find another gear and kick away to win with authority.
“He was fresh,” winning rider Martin Garcia said of Citizen Bull's bobble at the start. “When I was warming him up, he just wanted to go and you could see that he was ready. When the gates opened, it was like the ground broke underneath him. He just broke too fast. Right away he recovered and I just sat, sat, sat and he took me right away. When he made the lead, he kind of pinned his ears forward and he was waiting around for company. He was just messing around; he wasn't very focused. He had one ear forward and one ear backwards, that means you have plenty of horse left.”
With his Lewis win, Citizen Bull earned 20 qualifying points towards this year's GI Kentucky Derby. Rodriguez collected 10 points and Madaket Road earned six points.
“My other horses ran really well,” Baffert said of the two-three finishers. “They are learning their styles, and they need a little more racing. We are happy and especially winning the Robert B. Lewis because he was one of my favorite clients of all time.”
Lewis fourth-place finisher Clock Tower (Not This Time) earned four Kentucky Derby qualifying points and fifth-place finisher Valentines Candy (Danzing Candy) earned two points.
A debut winner at Del Mar last August, Citizen Bull was fourth behind stablemate Gaming (Game Winner) in the GI Del Mar Futurity, but he is unbeaten since that Sept. 8 effort. He was a front-running two-length winner of the Oct. 5 GI American Pharoah Stakes and wired the field as a 15-1 outsider in the Nov. 1 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He tuned up for his 3-year-old debut with bullet works at Santa Anita Jan. 18 (six furlongs in 1:12.00) and Jan. 25 (five furlongs in :59.00).
“You don't know until their next start,” Baffert said of expectations for the champ's sophomore debut. “He has been working really well. He is a big strong heavy horse and he handled it well. He wasn't cranked up totally, but he is such a good horse that he just caught another gear.”
Pedigree Notes:
Citizen Bull is one of two Grade I winners by Into Mischief out of Distorted Humor mares. The other is GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Life Is Good. Citizen Bull's unraced dam No Joke was bred to that multiple Grade I winner last year. The 9-year-old mare, a half-sister to multiple Grade I winner Moonshine Memories (Malibu Moon) who was purchased by Robert and Lawana Low for $750,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September sale, also has a yearling colt by Mandaloun.
Citizen Bull's third dam, Evil Elaine, produced champion Favorite Trick (Phone Trick).
It was all #2 CITIZEN BULL ($3.80) in the $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita. That is Bob Baffert's 7th straight win in the Robert B. Lewis Stakes and the 13th time he won the race. The son of Into Mischief (@spendthriftfarm) was ridden by Martin Garcia. pic.twitter.com/7SF1VGuWx7
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) February 1, 2025
Saturday, Santa Anita Park
ROBERT B. LEWIS S.-GIII, $200,000, Santa Anita, 2-1, 3yo, 1m, 1:36.71, ft.
1–CITIZEN BULL, 124, c, 3, by Into Mischief
1st Dam: No Joke, by Distorted Humor
2nd Dam: Unenchantedevening, by Unbridled's Song
3rd Dam: Evil Elaine, by Medieval Man
($675,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP). O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan; B-Robert & Lawana Low (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Martin Garcia. $120,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2-year-old colt, MGISW, 5-4-0-1, $1,421,000. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Rodriguez, 120, c, 3, Authentic–Cayala, by Cherokee Run. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($485,000 Ylg '23 KEESEP). 'TDN Rising Star'. O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan; B-Kingswood Farm & David Egan (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $40,000.
3–Madaket Road, 120, c, 3, Quality Road–Frolic's Dream, by Smoke Glacken. ($650,000 Ylg '23 FTSAUG). O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital LLC and Catherine Donovan; B-SF Bloodstock LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $24,000.
Margins: 3 3/4, 2 1/4, 7 3/4. Odds: 0.90, 1.40, 5.20.
Also Ran: Clock Tower, Valentines Candy.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
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