ARCADIA — After a long wait for his first stakes victory, Cornucopian made short work of winning the San Carlos Stakes at Santa Anita on Sunday, pulling away by 2-3/4 lengths in a fast time.
The 4-year-old ridden by Juan Hernandez and trained by Bob Baffert covered the 7 furlongs in 1:20.71, fastest for the Grade III San Carlos since The Factor’s 1:20.56 in 2012 and not far off Flying Paster’s 1:20-1/5 in 1981. Listenupshance finished second and Bartholdy third, while Grade I winner Subsanador finished fourth in his first start in 18 months. Stronghold was scratched.
Cornucopian, a son of Into Mischief, was the beaten favorite in the 2025 Arkansas Derby, and missed eight months before he was entered in the Malibu Stakes in December, only to be scratched after rearing in the saddling paddock. An allowance-level sprint victory in January, plus the San Carlos, gives him his first winning streak.
“He looks like he’s ready for something really big,” Baffert said. “This race really tightened him up, so we can put him on the road and aim a little higher. … We should have a good summer and fall with him.”