Lookin At Lucky favored in Santa Anita Derby

Associated Press

ARCADIA, CALIf.

Lookin At Lucky can finish among the top three in today’s Santa Anita Derby, and Bob Baffert will be satisfied.

“It’s not a do-or-die race for me,” the Hall of Fame trainer said, even though it would be his record sixth victory in the $750,000 West Coast prep for the Kentucky Derby.

“If he’s fit and healthy, he carries me the rest of the way.”

And where Baffert hopes his colt ends up is in the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.

He already knows Lookin At Lucky can handle running on dirt, so Baffert chose to keep last year’s 2-year-old male champion at home for the 11‚Ñ8-mile Santa Anita Derby on a synthetic surface instead of shipping him to Oaklawn Park for next week’s Arkansas Derby on dirt.

Baffert and jockey Garrett Gomez were satisfied with Lookin At Lucky’s 3-year-old debut on March 13, when he overcame a tough trip to win the Rebel by a head at Oaklawn. It was his first start on dirt and his first time wearing blinkers to keep him focused on the task at hand.

“One of my main questions was how he was going to handle it, not just running over it, but having it hit him in the face,” Gomez said. “He flinched at it for a second, and then traveled well within himself.

“He handled the situation well, and that’s good because it’s a scenario he could face in the (Kentucky) Derby. It will give him a stronger foundation for the road ahead.”

Lookin At Lucky goes into the Santa Anita Derby as the early 4-5 favorite in a field of 10.

Gomez has ridden Lookin At Lucky in each of the colt’s seven starts, losing only once.