Undefeated runners who continually put massive amounts of daylight between themselves and their competitors are a joy to watch. Thus, despite triple-digit Southern California heat at Santa Anita Park for the Grade 1 $300,000 American Pharoah Stakes presented by DK Horse on Oct. 3, fans reveled in seeing what a truly talented horse looks like.

His name is Hughes.

Trainer Bob Baffert annually brings a phalanx of 2-year-olds for all of the Southern California juvenile stakes races and more often than not he wins them, but not always with the same individual. This year, it's all Hughes.

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Four Baffert runners faced two others in the 1 1/16-mile American Pharoah, which offers a fees-paid Breeders' Cup Challenge Series "Win and You're In" berth to the FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by TAA Oct. 30 at Keeneland.

Also on the line were qualifying points on the Road to the 2027 Kentucky Derby on a 10-5-3-2-1 scale to the top five finishers.

Give California-bred Net Par credit for trying to thwart Hughes. He took the early lead and did his best to hold on, getting away with the first quarter-mile in :23.37 and a half-mile in :46.86.

Jockey Juan Hernandez let Hughes settle into third, swung him three wide to make his bid on the second turn, and took the lead at the quarter pole. Hughes increased his margin to six lengths at the wire in 1:43.22. Net Par was second while 9 1/2 lengths in front of Imperial Honor way back in third.

"He broke a step slow, but he relaxed really good behind horses," Hernandez said. "I was loaded the whole race. I was just waiting for the quarter pole to start making my run. When I hit the quarter pole, I asked him and he took off for the wire."

Barbara Banke of Stonestreet Stables led Hughes into the winner's circle. She represented the large ownership group that also includes Front Row Club, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Bashor Racing, Albaugh Family Stables, Robert E. Masterson, Golconda Stable, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan.

"I was so worried about the heat, but actually, now that I'm here, this is not as bad as it was at Keeneland." Banke said." She added with a smile, "I grew up down here. It's a dry heat."

Baffert felt that the American Pharoah taught Hughes things a young horse needs to learn enroute to the Breeders' Cup.

"He got behind horses, and we wanted to see that," Baffert said. "At first he was a little anxious, but he settled well and when he asked him to go, he went. And it was a very respectable time. He came back great. I think he's just getting better and better. Baby steps and progress in the right way."

Hughes was "good from day one," Baffert said before the American Pharoah. The colt proved it in his first three races including a six-length maiden win, a 7 3/4-length win in the Grade 3 Best Pal Stakes, and a 4 3/4-length win in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity.

"This is the first time he's ever gone two turns," Baffert noted. "Juan got him to settle, and he shut it down. That's what you need, you need a horse that can shut it off, and he did."

Thought Process Rolls to Victory in Rodeo Drive Stakes

As a Grade 1 winner with seven victories out of 11 career starts, Thought Process fit the profile of a 4-5 favorite in the $203,000 Grade 2 Rodeo Drive Stakes Oct. 3 at Santa Anita Park. She ran that way, too.

The 4-year-old daughter of Collected grabbed the front early in the 1 1/4-mile Rodeo Drive Saturday and held a commanding lead that she would retain through early fractions of :24.51, :48.33, and 1:12.54. She took a little pressure from three stalkers as the field rounded into the stretch, but Thought Process under jockey Hector Berrios easily drew away to win by 4 1/4 lengths. The final time was 1:58.47.

Thought Process races as a homebred for the estate of Brereton C. Jones, which owns the filly with Little Red Feather Racing and Madaket Stables. Trainer Phil D'Amato has now saddled this filly for five graded stakes wins.

The winner paid $3.60. Vronti was second and Resolve finished third.

"We knew how special this filly was," said Billy Koch, managing partner of the Little Red Feather partnership group. "I didn't think a mile and quarter would be a problem, and Hector did a great job. Now we see what happens at Keeneland."

On a day filled coast-to-coast with important steppingstones to the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the Rodeo Drive was Saturday's final Breeders' Cup Challenge Series "Win and You're In" race providing Thought Process a feed-paid berth into the $2 million Maker's Mark Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf. - Eric Mitchell

Domain Expansion Goes from Maiden to Stakes Winner in Oak Tree Romp

Beware of California fillies with seemingly little experience coming into the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Last year, Super Corredora won that race off a maiden victory, and this year Domain Expansion may be heading in the same direction with just one win on her resume in two starts.

Domain Expansion, who was a maiden going into the Grade 2 $200,00 Oak Leaf Stakes presented by Oak Tree Racing Association on Oct. 3 at Santa Anita Park, emerged with a Graded stakes win that was also her maiden victory. Plus, with the Oak Leaf a part of the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series, Domain Expansion earned a fees-paid "Win and You're In" berth into the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies on Oct. 30 at Keeneland. She also earned 10 qualifying points on an early step on the Road to the 2027 Kentucky Oaks.

Domain Expansion. (Lindsay Affleck/Eclipse Sportswire)

Deluge, from the barn of trainer Bob Baffert, took the early lead in the 1 1/16-mile Oak Leaf while Domain Expansion and jockey Adrian Escobedo raced in second. Domain Expansion swung wide on the turn, got to the lead, and just kept widening. She hit the wire seven lengths ahead of the Baffert-trained second-place finisher Holmby, who in turn was 3 1/4 lengths in front of Baffert's show finisher Quattro Passi. Deluge faded to fifth. 

Domain Expansion($31) stopped the clock in 1:44.44 for 1 1/16 miles on a fast track.

The Oak Leaf marked the first graded stakes win for Escobedo, who obtained the mount because he bought a couple of the owners a beer at a jockey charity karaoke night at Del Mar. Matt Dohman of California Racing Partners, which owns Domain Expansion with Joe Ciaglia's Ciaglia Racing, Allen Keith, and Kevin O'Donnell, said he told his partners that "we've got to give him a mount on a good horse."

The "good horse" turned out to be Domain Expansion, a leggy daughter of Speaker's Corner trained by Leonard Powell. The trainer tried her in a one-mile maiden special weight race on the turf for her career debut Sept. 5 at Del Mar where she finished second.

"We had a horse called Maltese Falcon that broke his maiden in a graded race also," Powell said. "When I see that they have talent in the morning, I don't mind taking shots. It's going to be much deeper waters when we go back East, but she deserves a shot." – Tracy Gantz