The Goodwood Stakes has long been a West Coast fall staple on the path to the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and while the race has been renamed several times over the years it has frequently served as a springboard to success at the World Championships. It’s currently a “Win and You’re In” qualifier for the Longines Classic set for Nov. 1 at Del Mar, meaning the Goodwood winner will receive an automatic berth to the $7 million Classic with entry fees waived plus a travel stipend.

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The Goodwood Stakes has been run at Santa Anita Park annually since 1982. It began as the Goodwood Handicap before being run as the Goodwood Breeders’ Cup Handicap from 1996 through 2006. In 2007, the race was switched from a handicap race – a race in which the track handicapper assigns the weight each entrant carries – to stakes conditions and contested as the Goodwood Stakes through 2011. In 2012, the race was renamed the Awesome Again Stakes in honor of the 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, and last year it was branded the inaugural California Crown Stakes. Santa Anita Park reinstated the name Goodwood Stakes for 2025.

Five winners of this race went on to capture the Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic: Ferdinand in 1987, Tiznow in 2000, Pleasantly Perfect in 2003, Mucho Macho Man in 2013, and Accelerate in 2018. 

This year’s race drew a field of seven and will be held as the ninth race with an estimated 8 p.m. ET post time on the Sept. 27 card of the Autumn meet’s opening Saturday, broadcast live on FanDuel TV.

Read on to learn more about each of the entrants for the 2025 Goodwood Stakes.

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1. Gaming

Jockey: Mike Smith

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owners: Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman

Career record: 9 starts – 3 wins – 2 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $786,000

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 105

Pedigree: Game Winner – So Stylish, by Johannesburg

Age: 3

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Gaming was a Grade 1 winner and the runner-up in the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance last year as a 2-year-old for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. He entered the year as a Kentucky Derby prospect with plenty of promise, but the Triple Crown trail was not a path to classic glory for Gaming. He was well-beaten when a troubled eighth in the Southwest Stakes in his season debut and wound up running on the Kentucky Derby undercard in the Pat Day Mile Stakes Presented by SAP, finishing third. Gaming looked like he had regained his peak form with a win in the Affirmed Stakes June 8 at Santa Anita, where he earned a career-best 105 Equibase Speed Figure, but he was beaten by 14 ½ lengths by stablemate Citizen Bull in the Shared Belief Stakes Aug. 31 at Del Mar. He’s a talented colt but he does not appear to have progressed as much as other members of his 3-year-old crop. As such, this race against older males looms a formidable task. Baffert has amassed eight Goodwood wins with Silver Charm (1998), Richard’s Kid (2010), Game On Dude (2011, 2012), Mubtaahij (2017), Improbable (2020), Medina Spirit (2021), and Defunded (2022). Owners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman raced 2022 winner Defunded. Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith won this race with Tiago (2007), Shared Belief (2014), and Subsanador (2024).

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2. Ultimate Gamble

Jockey: Kazushi Kimura

Trainer: Mark Glatt

Owners: Red Baron's Barn and Rancho Temescal

Career record: 10 starts – 3 wins – 1 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $275,840

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 112

Pedigree: Medaglia d'Oro – Eltimaas, by Ghostzapper

Age: 5

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Stalker

Analysis: Ultimate Gamble enters the Goodwood off a third-place finish in the $1 million Pacific Classic Stakes in his stakes debut, beaten by 9 ¾ lengths by dominant winner Fierceness while 6 ½ lengths behind runner-up Journalism. It was a respectable first try in a stakes considering it was a Grade 1 race; the two horses that beat him that day were a champion and a classic winner, respectively; and the 1 ¼-mile Pacific Classic was his first start in a race longer than 1 1/16 miles. The Goodwood Stakes drew a solid field but there is no Fierceness or Journalism among the seven entrants and cutting back to 1 1/8 miles should boost the 5-year-old by Medaglia d’Oro’s chances. His career-best Equibase Speed Figure indicated he can be competitive in this spot and two of his three career wins came on this dirt track. Ultimate Gamble was 71.10-1 odds in the Pacific Classic. He won’t be anything close to that in the Goodwood Stakes, but he’s a longshot worth a long look to boost the payout of your trifecta tickets.

3. Privman

Jockey: Antonio Fresu

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owners: SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Tom J. Ryan, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan

Career record: 5 starts – 2 wins – 3 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $139,200

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 112

Pedigree: Justify – Mo Knows, by Uncle Mo

Age: 3

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Privman seems to be finding his best stride in the second half of his 3-year-old season for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert. Named for respected longtime turf writer Jay Privman, the bay Justify colt finished second in each of his first three races before breaking through July 2 at Del Mar in a one-mile dirt race. He led from start to finish in that race and earned an eye-catching 112 Equibase Speed Figure. Privman followed with a win at the same track and distance from just off the pace Aug. 9 in an allowance-optional claiming race. The Goodwood Stakes is a tough test for a 3-year-old in general and even more so for one making his stakes debut. Baffert must feel confident in his ability given the ambitious assignment and there is plenty of room for improvement in just his sixth start if you are looking for an upside play.  Baffert has won the Goodwood eight times with Silver Charm (1998), Richard’s Kid (2010), Game On Dude (2011, 2012), Mubtaahij (2017), Improbable (2020), Medina Spirit (2021), and Defunded (2022). SF Racing was a part-owner of 2020 winner Improbable.

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4. First Mission

Jockey: Paco Lopez

Trainer: Brad Cox

Owner: Godolphin

Career record: 14 starts – 6 wins – 3 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $2,209,270

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 115

Pedigree: Street Sense – Elude, by Medaglia d'Oro

Age: 5

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: A graded stakes winner at ages 3 and 4, First Mission has elevated his game as a 5-year-old while facing elite competition. In four starts, he’s posted Equibase Speed Figures between 112 and 115 with a two-length win in the $1.25 million Oaklawn Handicap a clear highlight. The dark bay or brown horse by Street Sense also finished third behind winner Mindframe and 2024 Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Stakes. First Mission enters the Goodwood off a second in the Grade 3 Philip H. Iselin Stakes Aug. 16 at Monmouth Park. It’s worth noting that Brad Cox shipped him from Churchill Downs to Santa Anita Park rather than running him on the same day in the Grade 2 Lukas Classic Stakes where he is based. Perhaps he believes the Goodwood is a better spot for First Mission, who looks like a leading win candidate.

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5. Nevada Beach

Jockey: Kyle Frey

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owners: Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman

Career record: 3 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $116,500

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 102

Pedigree: Omaha Beach – Morrow Cove, by Yes It's True

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Press the pace

Analysis: Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert will try for a record-extending ninth win in the Goodwood Stakes with a triumvirate that includes lightly raced Nevada Beach, who rolled to a 4 ¼-length win in the Los Alamitos Derby June 28 in his third career start. Prior to that, the Omaha Beach colt debuted with a win in April at Santa Anita Park and ran second to stablemate Gaming in the Affirmed Stakes June 8 at Santa Anita. There is plenty of room for improvement possible in Nevada Beach’s fourth start and he will need to do exactly that to be a factor against older males. Speed is an asset for Nevada Beach and his Los Alamitos Derby victory came at this 1 1/8-mile distance, so he should be on or near the lead approaching the stretch. Baffert’s previous Goodwood wins came with Silver Charm (1998), Richard’s Kid (2010), Game On Dude (2011, 2012), Mubtaahij (2017), Improbable (2020), Medina Spirit (2021), and Defunded (2022). Owners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman raced 2022 winner Defunded.

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6. Express Train

Jockey: Hector Berrios

Trainer: John Shirreffs

Owner: C R K Stable

Career record: 27 starts – 7 wins – 7 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $1,639,800

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 110

Pedigree: Union Rags – I'm a Flake, by Mineshaft

Age: 8

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker/closer

Analysis: Express Train earned the most important victory of his career on this main track at Santa Anita Park in March 2022 when he won the Santa Anita Handicap presented by Yaamava’ Resort & Casino. He is winless in 10 subsequent starts but it’s not all doom and gloom for the 8-year-old, who has finished in the top three in three of four races this season. In fact, the 107 Equibase Speed Figure he earned in his season debut, a runner-up finish in the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes, was just three points off his career-best and he enters the Goodwood off a sharp third sprinting in the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes. Express Train has finished in the top three in 74% of his 27 career starts, recently at appealing odds, so he’s worth a second look for exacta and trifecta tickets. Trainer John Shirreffs won this race in 2007 with Tiago.

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7. Full Serrano

Jockey: Juan Hernandez

Trainer: John Sadler

Owner: Hronis Racing

Career record: 18 starts – 7 wins – 5 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $846,423

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 117

Pedigree: Full Mast – Serra Do Mar, by Jump Start

Age: 6

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Pacesetter/press the pace

Analysis: Last year’s Big Ass Fans Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner returned from a layoff of 10 months Sept. 1 at Del Mar and romped by 7 ¼ lengths in an allowance-optional claiming race for trainer John Sadler. He earned a 115 Equibase Speed Figure in his return, just two points off the career-best number earned in the 2024 Dirt Mile, and is eligible to improve in his second start of the season. The 1 1/8-mile distance shouldn’t be a problem for the 6-year-old, who ran second last year in the 1 ¼-mile Pacific Classic. Full Serrano could face early pressure in the Goodwood, but he was able to comfortably press a strong pace from just off the lead in the Breeders’ Cup and still won by 1 ½ lengths. There is a good chance Full Serrano will be in front entering the Goodwood stretch and dare the rest of the field to come and get him. Sadler and Hronis Racing teamed to win this race in 2018 with Accelerate.