With the May 3 Kentucky Derby (G1) a little less than a month and a half away, stables have been mulling their plans for the final two weekends of major preps March 29 and April 5.
With four of their 3-year-olds currently among the top 21 in Kentucky Derby qualifying points, those decisions are still mostly up in the air for the SF Racing/Starlight Racing/Madaket Stables-headed group.
The exception is Citizen Bull. According to SF Racing's Tom Ryan, the managing partner of the large ownership group with as many as 10 separate interests, the Bob Baffert-trained reigning 2-year-old champion male is training sharply for his final Kentucky Derby tune-up in the April 5 Santa Anita Derby (G1).
"Cross my fingers and toes, but it looks like we're going great guns at the moment," Ryan said. "Citizen Bull is coming into the Santa Anita Derby really, really well."
The 1 1/8-mile Santa Anita Derby will be the second start at 3 for the son of Into Mischief who captured last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1). Bred by Robert and Lawana Low, he opened 2025 with a dominant, front-running 3 3/4-length victory in the Feb. 1 Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park for Baffert, giving the bay colt a career record of four wins in five starts.
"Physically he's there. We never worried about that," Ryan said. "But in addition, he's also so mentally strong and that's a very important criteria. He has the focus, the motion, the action, the athleticism, the power that you love. He was a deserving champion at 2 and he's is going to be a 3-year-old to be reckoned with. We're very excited about him."
Citizen Bull, who worked six furlongs in 1:12 March 17, already has amassed 60 qualifying points, which assures him of a spot in the 20-horse field for the opening leg of the Triple Crown.
The partnership's other Kentucky Derby hopefuls trained by Baffert will need one more strong race to secure their Derby status.
Madaket Road is 11th with 31 points while Rodriguez is 21st with 21.25 points. Fifty points is usually considered enough to crack the top 20. A year ago, 40 points secured a spot in the starting gate.
Where they will race next is undecided heading into the March 29 Arkansas Derby (G1) and Florida Derby (G1) and the April 5 trio of the Santa Anita Derby, Blue Grass Stakes (G1), and Wood Memorial Stakes (G2). Each of those races awards 100-50-25-15-10 points to the top five finishers.
"Decisions have to be made and they are all high-class decisions to make. The horses will tell Bob and he gets to shuffle the cards. It will be his decision. There's no one like Bob," Ryan said about the six-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer. "He's so good at working them out and having them ready when needed or backing off when needed. He's a master at his craft. You can't put a price tag on the experience Bob has."
Madaket Road (Quality Road ) was second in the Rebel Stakes (G2) at Oaklawn Park last time out, while Rodriguez (Authentic ) was third in the San Felipe Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita.
The stable's other possibilities for the Triple Crown mix include Cornucopian (Into Mischief), a $1.1 million 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale buy from the Gainesway consignment who won his Feb. 23 debut at Oaklawn Park, and Voldemort (Good Magic ), a March 14 maiden winner at Santa Anita.
Grade 1-placed Getaway Car is eighth with 46 qualifying points, but plans for the son of Curlin are uncertain after a fourth-place finish last weekend in the Virginia Derby as the 4-5 favorite.
"There's no decision yet on Getaway Car. We need to let Bob go over him and make a decision," Ryan said. "He's a game horse and he has the points to go to the Derby. We'll assess his situation over the next 45 days and make a decision. You can't put a square peg in a round hole. Things have to be 110% or maybe we give him off until the summer. He's a brave campaigner. Is he a Derby horse? We'll know more in a few weeks."
Considering the group generally buys about two dozen yearlings a year, to have at least six of them in the Triple Crown picture is a rather remarkable achievement for the selection team and Baffert.
"I feel we have a lovely crop of 3-year-olds, a crop to be excited about. We need crops like this to keep people interested in the group and I think people are getting pretty good bang for their bucks this year," Ryan said. "If we can have more than one horse in the Kentucky Derby, it will be a tremendous achievement."
