Trainer Bob Baffert capped a stellar opening day at Santa Anita Park Dec. 28 by sending out Goal Oriented and Midland Money as the winner and runner-up of the featured $301,000, Grade 1 Malibu Stakes.

Baffert also trains the 1-2 finishers in the $200,500, Grade 2 Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes in Nysos and Nevada Beach as well as Usha, the winner of the $302,500, Grade 1 La Brea Stakes Presented by Don Julio for 3-year-old fillies. The Hall of Famer missed filling out the trifecta in the Malibu by one slot as California-bred Speedy Wilson edged Baffert-trained Madaket Road for third. The opening-day slate at Santa Anita featured six graded stakes in total and was delayed two days from its traditional Dec. 26 opener due to excessive rain in the region during Christmas week.

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Goal Oriented, a Not This Time colt owned by the partnership known as “the Avengers,” started from the outside gate in the Malibu and had to pass most of the field from the start of the turn. He closed stoutly on the outside through the stretch under Flavien Prat and won by a length from his stablemate, covering seven furlongs in 1:20.97 on a fast track. Madaket Road prompted the early pace and just missed completing the trifecta.

Baffert achieved his year-long goal of getting a Grade 1 win for Goal Oriented – who previously finished third in both the NYRA Bets Haskell Stakes and the Pennsylvania Derby at that level –  but said the buildup to the actual race was draining.

Baffert had five of the original 10 entries – the five morning-line favorites – in the Malibu, including the oddsmaker’s No. 1 selection, Barnes, who won the Perryville Stakes at Keeneland Oct. 18 by 8 ¼ lengths. He was an early scratch.

That left Cornucopian, an Into Mischief colt making his first start since April, as the favorite as the field entered the Santa Anita saddling enclosure. There, Cornucopian reared and came down awkwardly. He was uninjured but, by rule, was an automatic scratch.

“It was just a whirlwind. Cornucopian, he was saddling and he just reared up a little bit. He lost his footing and sat down like a dog. He was all right but once they do that, it’s automatic scratch here and I understand that,” Baffert said.

That, then, left Baffert with Madaket Road, Midland Money and Goal Oriented, who then was bet down to favored odds of 1.10-1.

“It was just silly. But it happened,” Baffert said. “So there was a lot of pressure on these other boys. We lost Barnes, had to scratch. But ‘Goal,’ we know he’s a good horse. And ‘Madaket’ looked like he was going to take it for a while. And my other horse ran really big.

“I’m just happy that it turned out, that we won it, because it was just so upsetting there for a little bit. We won the Malibu, which is so important.”

A highly anticipated showdown between Baffert stablemates Nysos and Nevada Beach highlighted the five other graded stakes held on Santa Anita’s opening Sunday, and their stretch run in the 1 1/16-mile Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes did not disappoint. Nysos, making his first start since a nose win over another stablemate, Citizen Bull, in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, dug in deep to outfinish a game Nevada Beach and end his 4-year-old season with a head victory as the heavy 1-5 favorite.

Among the other four races, Baffert-trained Nash dominated a solid field in the seven-furlong La Brea, winning by 5 ¼ lengths under Juan Hernandez. In the $303,000, Grade 1 American Oaks Presented by Cygames for 3-year-old fillies on turf, Augustin Stable homebred Ambaya finished best in the mile-and-a-quarter test to post the 12.70-1 upset for trainer Jonathan Thomas. That was Thomas’ second graded stakes win on the card in a turf event, following Hiding in Honduras’ late-running upset win at 9.70-1 odds in the $200,500, Grade 2 Mathis Mile Stakes. And in the $103,000, Grade 3 San Gabriel Stakes held at 1 1/8  miles on turf, 6-year-old veteran Cabo Sprit led the field from start to finish in an impressive 1 ¼-length win under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith.