Kentucky-bred Citizen Bull stamped his ticket to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) with a victory in Santa Anita’s $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes (G1), a “Win in You’re In” for the Juvenile on Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
In the 1 1/16-mile event, Citizen Bull flashed good early foot to get to the front early. He led the parade down the backstretch and was given his cue from jockey Martin Garcia approaching the lane. Citizen Bull maintained a clear advantage through the stretch and scored by two lengths from stablemate Getaway Car at the finish. He stopped the clock in 1:44.30.
Owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert Masterson, Tom Ryan, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan, Citizen Bull is trained by Bob Baffert. The bay colt is by Into Mischief out of the Distorted Humor mare No Joke. He was bred in Kentucky by Robert and Lawana Low. Citizen Bull was a $675,000 acquisition at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
“I feel fortunate and blessed to have the clientele that I have,” said Baffert. “Without that, you can’t win these things. This is why we buy these colts, to try to win on these big days. I’m happy we have one, maybe a couple. It was great to see that.”
Citizen Bull finished third in the Del Mar Futurity (G1) in September after winning his career debut at Del Mar on Aug. 17. He is now a winner in 2-of-3 starts and has earned $261,000.