Liking what he saw during a July 23 workout at Del Mar, trainer Bob Baffert will stick to his plan to enter Gary and Mary West's Power Broker in the $1 million William Hill Haskell Invitational Stakes (gr. I) July 28 at Monmouth Park.
After a slow start to the season, Power Broker has put together back-to-back victories, including a 3 3/4-length score in the Easy Goer Stakes June 8 at Belmont Park. The Pulpit colt won that 1 1/16-mile stakes race for 3-year-olds in front-running style after winning an allowance race May 10 at Churchill Downs.
On Tuesday July 23, Power Broker handily worked five furlongs in 1:00 4/5, the 13th fastest of 36 moves at the distance on the Del Mar Polytrack. Afterward, Baffert sent out a message on Twitter that Power Broker worked great and would be entered in the Haskell.
Baffert has won three straight editions of the Haskell, taking the 1 1/8-mile race with Paynter last year, Coil in 2011, and Lookin At Lucky in 2010. The Racing Hall of Fame trainer will be looking for his seventh Haskell win overall.
Power Broker won last year's Frontrunner Stakes (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park and finished fifth in the Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) but was unable to make his 3-year-old season debut until April 6, when he finished fifth in the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I).