Bob Baffert has been having a pretty stressful time this horse racing season. Even though everyone was looking forward to his comeback in the “winner’s circle” at Churchill Downs, it didn’t quite turn out as people had hoped. He had two horses in the Kentucky Derby, but at the last moment, Rodriguez got scratched due to a foot injury. During the race, Citizen Bull was in the lead for quite a while, but the colt just couldn’t hold on in the final stretch and fell back from the front runners. It’s really a bummer after all the excitement surrounding him…
The 72-year-old trainer faced a similar situation in the Preakness Stakes, as Rodriguez wasn’t quite prepared for this G1 event and ended up being moved to the Belmont Stakes instead. So, Goal Oriented, who was unbeaten before the Preakness, faced his first loss at Pimlico, finishing fourth in the race while Journalism snagged the win. With only one race left in the American Triple Crown, Baffert is gearing up for the Belmont Stakes. But, in the midst of all this tension, there was some good news for the horse trainer.
At the 2025 Santa Margarita Stakes held at Santa Anita Park, trainer Bob Baffert pulled off an impressive one-two finish with Seismic Beauty and his other horse, Splendora. Seismic Beauty, a 4-year-old filly owned by MyRacehorse and Peter Leidel, really shined in her stakes debut, taking the lead right from the start and holding onto it all the way to the finish line. With jockey Antonio Fresu on board, she got off to a fast start and kept her lead, finishing strong to win by five lengths ahead of Splendora. Seismic Beauty just scored her third win in six career starts, bringing her total earnings up to $236,840.
In an interview with Kurt Hoover from FanDuel Racing, the trainer mentioned, “Yeah, you know, I always thought she could go long, and her last race, you know, she proved that she was a really nice horse. Today, you know, I just put her in the lead. She’s a big Uncle Mo filly that covers a lot of ground, and, you know, proud of my other, the other filly was trying to get to her, but, you know, she’s getting better. We gave her all that time to grow up and just happy, you know, a lot of patience from the owners and stuff, but I think she’s just going to get better and better as we go along.”
“She’s a big Uncle Mo filly that covers a lot of ground.”
Kurt Hoover caught up with trainer @BobBaffert after SEISMIC BEAUTY won the $200,000 Santa Margarita Stakes (G2) at @SantaAnitaPark. pic.twitter.com/DvJQjgyIbg
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) May 25, 2025
Baffert pointed out how well she handles longer distances and mentioned how much she has improved over time. The trainer talked about her physical traits and highlighted how patient her owners were while she was growing up. He shared some positive vibes about her future, saying she’s set to get even better as the season goes on.
Seismic Beauty’s impressive, start-to-finish victory really highlighted her skills and also showed how Baffert has been smart about her training and growth. Her performance in the Santa Margarita Stakes really hints that she could be a solid contender in the big races coming up. It seems like Baffert is all in on the upcoming Belmont Stakes, and his horse is already geared up for the action.
Might be the key to securing a G1 win for Bob Baffert
With the Belmont Stakes coming up, there’s some big news about one of Bob Baffert’s horses that fans are eager to hear about for the G1 event. Co-owner Tom Ryan shared, “Lovely work from Rodriguez this morning at Santa Anita in 1:24.4 – Happy horse, extended nicely – he’s ready for a trip to Saratoga.” Rodriguez wrapped up a fantastic six furlongs in 1:24.4, and it really caught the eye of his co-owner.
According to Ryan, this time is amazing! It really shows that Rodriguez is in great shape and ready for his upcoming race at Saratoga. It’s about time he showed up. So, the last time anyone spotted Rodriguez running was during the G2 Wood Memorial Stakes, where he took home the win and snagged some important points for the Kentucky Derby.
As we get closer to the Belmont Stakes, it’s clear that after everything the colt has been through, he seems strong enough to take on the challenge.
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