Authentic remains undefeated after San Felipe S. (G2) romp

Authentic will run next in the $1,000,000 Santa Anita Derby (G1) | Eclipse Sportswire photo

Into Mischief’s brilliant 3-year-old colt Authentic continued his march towards Louisville and the Kentucky Derby with an authoritative victory in Saturday’s $400,000 San Felipe S. (G2), winning the 1 1/16-mile affair by 2 1/4-lengths in front-running style.

Authentic has won all three of his starts, including the Sham S. (G3) by nearly eight lengths, and has earned $331,200. Owned by a large partnership, Authentic also earned 50 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby (G1) challenge and now tops the list with a total of 60, which assures him of a spot in the starting gate for the May 2 Derby.

Though he bobbled at the start of the San Felipe, he quickly recovered to grab the lead. Rolling through a half-mile in a solid :46.71, he started to widen his lead on the turn and was never seriously threatened at any point as he coasted home to stop the timer in 1:43.56.

“When I saw the fractions, :22 and change, it was fast, but he was doing it so easy,” said Authentic’s trainer Bob Baffert. “The really good ones do that and I just love the way he looked down the backside. He’s a special horse and this was probably one of the toughest prep races that we’ve seen so far. Those were really good horses in there. We hope to stay healthy and run in the [Apr. 4 GI] Santa Anita Derby (G1).”

Into Mischief’s runners have gotten off to an incredible start in 2020, with 11 stakes winners accounting for 13 black type wins to date. Authentic topped a stellar Saturday for Into Mischief, who also accounted for Gotham S. (G3) winner Mischevious Alex.

Baffert also unveiled another potential Into Mischief star Saturday at Santa Anita in the form of the 3-year-old filly Gamine, whose very easy 6 1/4-length debut victory earned her a TDN ‘Rising Star’ tag. A $1.8 million sales-topper owned by Michael Lund Petersen, Gamine was bred in Kentucky by Grace Thoroughbred Holdings LLC.