Kalypso wins Santa Ynez S. (G2) in style

Kalypso topped a terrific weekend for the Bob Baffert stable with a sharp score in Sunday’s $200,000 Santa Ynez S. (G2) at Santa Anita Park.

With Frosteria finishing second behind her stablemate, Baffert finished 1-2 in both the Santa Ynez and Saturday’s Sham S. (G3) with Life Is Good and Medina Spirit.+

The newly-turned 3-year-old filly, who was bred by Spendthrift Farm, was coming off a solid second to Varda, also trained by Baffert, in the 1 1/16-mile Starlet S. (G1) a month ago. 

Cutting back to seven furlongs on Sunday, Kalypso battled with Brilliant Cut for the lead for most of the race. She shook free of her foe in mid-stretch and pulled away under a hand ride from Joel Rosario to finish the distance in 1:23.42 on a fast track.

“I would try her long again, as they get older they are maturing,” Baffert said of future plans for Kalypso. “You can slow her down a little bit, like today she was pretty relaxed. She wasn’t too rank where she went real fast, but we’ll just see how (she) comes out of it.”

Kalypso is owned by David Bernstein, Rockingham Ranch and Chad Littlefield. Winner of the Anokia S. last year, she is now 2-2-1 in five starts and has earned $245,600. Frosteria, who is still a maiden, was honorable in defeat and will likely return next in maiden race according to her trainer.

Kalypso gave Baffert a record sixth winner of the Santa Ynez, and his second straight after Bast’s victory in 2020.