After shipping his string down from Santa Anita Park in the early morning hours of Oct. 31, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert was on the scene Nov. 1 at Del Mar to put his Breeders' Cup contenders through their paces, led by Juddmonte Farms' defending 2016 Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) winner Arrogate .
Baffert had exercise rider Dana Barnes keep Arrogate to an easy jog with the pony after the 4-year-old son of Unbridled's Song left the barn around 6:30 a.m. The big gray colt backtracked an uneventful circuit of the seaside oval and was back at the barn by 6:50 a.m., when he cooled out in front of a small media contingent.
"He just jogged in the dark," Baffert said. "We usually take him out in the light, so he was looking around a lot, but he looked fine."
Arrogate went out after Breeders' Cup Classic contender Mubtaahij, who trained around 6 a.m. He was followed after the break by Collected and West Coast, who both galloped in the same set around 7:50 a.m, the latter with Barnes aboard.
"Everyone else just went around and did their thing; I didn't see any changes in any of them, so that's good," Baffert said.
Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) contender Abel Tasman also took to the track for Baffert, and put in a strong gallop with Barnes in the irons.
