Collected takes down $415,000 Festival of Racing S.

Collected, winner of the Sham S. (G3) two months ago, got his second stakes win of the year with a two-length score in the $415,000 Sunland Park Festival of Racing S. on Sunday.

The Festival was a replacement for the Sunland Derby (G3), which was cancelled last month due to a virus outbreak at the track. Baffert has won the Derby three times: 2014 with Chitu, 2013 with Govenor Charlie, and 2006 with Wanna Runner.

Collected, the 6-5 favorite, took control early and never looked back, setting all the fractions with Gettysburg giving chase, and after opening up four lengths in the stretch, cruised home to get the 1 1/8-miles in 1:48.90 (VIDEO).

“I used a little bit of horse at the start, but once we got the lead he was cruising,” winning rider Martin Garcia said. “When I asked him to go, he responded nicely. I think we even saved something for his next race.”

Collected has now won three of five starts and upped his earnings to $343,700 after the big payday. The 3-year-old is owned by Speedway Stable, who picked him out of the OBS March 2015 2-year-old sale for $170,000.