ARCADIA, Calif. (AP) -Bob Baffert loves the spot he's in, having a solid Kentucky Derby candidate with three months to go until the first Saturday in May.
Pioneerof the Nile rallied from off the pace to win Saturday's $200,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes by a half-length over Papa Clem in his 3-year-old debut.
The colt ran 1 1-16 miles in 1:41.90 on Santa Anita's synthetic surface.
Garrett Gomez steered Pioneerof the Nile down the middle of the track, and they just edged Papa Clem and Rafael Bejarano at the wire. The winner paid $5.40, $3.80 and $2.60 as the 8-5 wagering favorite.
Papa Clem returned $14 and $6.80, while I Want Revenge was another one length back in third and paid $2.60 to show. Bittel Road, trained by Todd Pletcher, was fourth in the field of nine.
Pioneerof the Nile comes along at the perfect time for Baffert, a three-time Kentucky Derby winner eager for another shot in the Run for the Roses. He lost Midshipman, last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner, from his barn when the colt was sold to Darley Stable last fall and shipped to Dubai to train.
Baffert can take his time bringing Pioneerof the Nile along because the colt already has enough graded stakes earnings to ensure a spot in the Derby field, capped at 20 starters.
``He's moving forward,'' the 56-year-old trainer said. ``That's what you want at this point. I'm just excited to be in this spot, that I can even think about the Kentucky Derby. I probably won't sleep tonight.''
Baffert accepted the winner's trophy from Beverly Lewis, the widow of the race's namesake who was a good friend and major client of Baffert's before his death in 2006.
Winning owner Ahmed Zayat was excited, too.
``We're taking it one step,'' Zayat said. ``He looks phenomenal. He looks like the real deal. We're thrilled.''
Pioneerof the Nile got the best of I Want Revenge in their rematch. They were separated by a nose, with Pioneerof the Nile winning the CashCall Futurity at Hollywood Park in December.
As promised by trainer Bobby Frankel, Brother Keith went to the early lead and stayed there while Gomez and Pioneerof the Nile were having issues back in the field.
``We had a Kentucky Derby-type trip. The first half-mile was great and the second half was a nightmare,'' he said. ``Everything was fine going by the half-mile pole and then going to the three-eighths, Jose (Valdivia aboard Charlie's Moment) dropped down on top of me.
``Coming to the eighth pole, I was thinking I might be a bad third and all of a sudden he kicked it in. He's a big, long-striding horse and it's nice to see that he faced some adversity today and he overcame it.''
Brother Keith faded to seventh.
Stardom Bound made a successful 3-year-old debut in the $300,000 Las Virgenes Stakes, using her trademark late run to beat seven rivals by 1 1/4 lengths.
The gray filly gives her new owners IEAH Stables another Kentucky Derby candidate. They owned Big Brown, who won last year's Derby and Preakness before losing his Triple Crown bid with a last-place finish in the Belmont Stakes.
Michael Ivarone, who heads the IEAH partnership, said Stardom Bound is set to take on the boys in the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby on April 4. Depending on how she does in that race, she could be headed to Louisville for the Derby.
``It would be great to put her against the boys. I don't know what else she has to prove against the girls,'' he said, describing the filly as ``everything you can dream of.''
Ridden by Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, Stardom Bound covered one mile in 1:36.43 and paid $2.80, $2.40 and $2.10 as the 2-5 wagering favorite. She carried high weight of 122 pounds.
``I just had to show her the way,'' Smith said. ``She seemed to have grown. I'd like to take some sort of credit, but I can't. She's a dream to ride.''
Last fall, Stardom Bound rallied from 13th and last to win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies on the same synthetic surface at Santa Anita. She's being trained in Southern California by Hall of Famer Frankel, but Ivarone said Rick Dutrow will take over when the filly travels back East. Dutrow made headlines last year overseeing Big Brown.
``I've got to think about it,'' Frankel said about pitting Stardom Bound against colts. ``I don't want to stick my neck out right now.''
Stardom Bound was last in the early going as Smith settled her along the rail. They were sixth when they began making their move at the three-quarters pole.
Haka was second and Saucey Evening was another neck back in third.
Stardom Bound, last year's Eclipse champion juvenile filly, has a future date with Big Brown. She will be bred to him upon her retirement. Big Brown stands at Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky, where his first season at stud will have him bred to 19 mares at $65,000 a pop.
Both horses are owned by IEAH, whose partners and Dutrow were embroiled in controversy on last year's Triple Crown trail.
Smith later won the $100,000 Thunder Road Handicap, riding Matto Mondo to a 3 1/4-length victory, his third in a row on the card.
Cowboy Cal won the $250,000 Strub Stakes, making their trip from the East Coast worthwhile for Pletcher and jockey John Velazquez.
He ran 1 1-8 mile in 1:48.22 and paid $8.60 to win, beating Blue Exit and Smith by three-quarters of a length. Victory Pete, ridden by Smith's girlfriend Chantal Sutherland, was third.
