Santa Anita Derby: Potente leads solid group

Mar 30, 2026 • 2 hours ago

ARCADIA, Calif. -- A spot in the Kentucky Derby is up for grabs Saturday at Santa Anita - and we now know the contenders.

The Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby will have 7 scheduled starters in the gate and will feature a rematch of the top two finishers in the San Felipe, last month’s prep for this race.

SANTA ANITA DERBY A MAJOR PREP

The Santa Anita Derby has been an important prep for the Kentucky Derby, both historically and this century. While the Florida Derby (25) and Blue Grass (23) have more winners all-time, the Blue Grass has produced just one winner this century (Street Sense, 2007). Meanwhile, the Santa Anita Derby - 19 total Kentucky Derby winners all time - has four winners since 2012, and five since 2000.

SAN FELIPE REMATCH

The top two finishers in the San Felipe - winner Potente and 2nd-placed Robusta - are both back to contest the Santa Anita Derby. Potente, who won the San Felipe, hails from the Bob Baffert barn. Baffert has the most Derby wins by a trainer in history, but his horses generally employ a front-running style. Potente is a closer, and after his first race - a win in a sprint - Baffert was keen to tell anyone who would listen that Potente simply wanted more distance. Potente is sired by Into Mischief, who himself has sired 3 winners, a Derby record; his dam, Sweet Sting, is by Derby winner Awesome Again. Should he win Saturday, he’ll be amongst the favorites in Louisville.

Robusta did much of the work in March’s San Felipe, also contested at Santa Anita Park. Robusta broke well, sat near the pace-setters before making a move in the stretch - where he had the lead for almost an 1/8th of a mile - before being overtaken at the wire by a surging Potente. His dam, Urbane Legend - is by Into Mischief. His sire, Accelerate, won four straight Grade 1s in 2018, all of them over two turns on dirt. Don’t be fooled by his long odds in the San Felipe: he can win here, and the Jaramillo / O’Neill connection is likely to garner some top jockey and trainer awards in the coming days.

UNPROVEN TALENT

Cherokee Nation - the other Baffert entry in the race - enters the race with the highest speed figure amongst any runner in this race, and 2nd-highest amongst all 3-year-olds in North America this year. He tried stakes company before returning to win against maidens - by 10 lengths. Oftentimes, horses of this caliber simply need a confidence boost before heading back into stakes company; Baffert clearly sees this as a potential outcome.

A RETURN TO FORM?

Intrepido won the Grade 1 American Pharoah here at Santa Anita, a race run under very similar conditions to the Santa Anita Derby. That was back in October, and is the last major 2-year-old race before the Breeders’ Cup each year. He ran 5th in the BC Juvenile, before a solid 2nd place finish in February’s Robert B. Lewis. Trainer Jeff Mullins - who had as good a year as any trainer in California in 2025 - decided to give him a race off before returning in this spot. It’s a calculated gamble, but a big one nonetheless: anything short of a second-place finish leaves connections deciding on a trip to Maryland for the Preakness.

A CHANCE AT REDEMPTION

Trainer Mark Glatt is going to give So Happy one more chance around two turns, and I for one am thrilled he is. His sire, Runhappy, was a top sprinter; his grandsire, Super Saver, was a Kentucky Derby winner. There is distance in his pedigree, but so many of Runhappy’s progeny simply haven’t shown an adeptness at two turn races. Hall of Famer Mike Smith keeps the mount here, and a second try over two turns could be the ticket for So Happy to land in Louisville.