Spielberg gives Baffert record 13th Futurity (G2) win

Spielberg provided plenty of drama but prevailed over The Great One to win Saturday’s $200,000 Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) by a nose (VIDEO).

Bob Baffert has won all seven runnings of the Futurity at Los Alamitos, and had six wins when the race was held at Hollywood Park as the Hollywood Futurity.

The Great One was away best early and led the field through a half-mile in :47.15 and six furlongs in 1:10.66. The pacesetter still had a two-length lead in mid-stretch, but Spielberg found his best stride in the final sixteenth to prevail on the wire. 

The son of Union Rags, who cost $1 million at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling sale, covered the 1 1/16 miles in 1:42.56 under Flavien Prat.  

Owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Golconda Stables, Siena Farm, and Robert Masterson, Spielberg bounced back from a disappointing fourth-place finish in last month’s Bob Hope S. (G3) at Del Mar. Prior to breaking his maiden in his fourth start, Spielberg had placed in both the Del Mar Futurity (G1) and American Pharoah S.(G1). His record now stands at 2-2-1 in six starts with earnings of $257,200.

Saturday’s win earned Spielberg 10 points as part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby (G1) series.