Citizen Bull, a son of Into Mischief owned by Starlight and its partners in “The Avengers” group, grabbed the lead at the start and motored to a 1 1/2-length victory over Gaming in the Juvenile to give Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert a 1-2 finish in the Nov. 1 showdown at the World Championships. Fellow Bob Baffert stablemate Gaming finished second and both horses were bought by top agent Donato Lanni.
Though the odds told a different story, Citizen Bull surely looked the part of a Triple Crown contender as he added the Juvenile to an Oct. 5 victory in the American Pharoah Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park, all of which made his 15-1 odds Friday somewhat baffling.
With 30 Kentucky Derby qualifying points earned in the Juvenile added to his 10 from the American Pharoah, Citizen Bull has 40 points and seems a cinch to be a part of the 20-horse Kentucky Derby field if all goes well in the coming months.
“Let’s hope he stays healthy and goes forward, and I think he can,” Ryan said. “He’s out of a Distorted Humor mare (No Joke) and he’s by Into Mischief. We know an Into Mischief can go a mile and a quarter and we know what Distorted Humor can do as a broodmare sire, so there are a lot of indicators that this colt is the real deal.”
Bred by Robert and Lawana Low in Kentucky and owned by SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Sol Kumin’s Madaket Stables, Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert Masterson, Ryan, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan, it was Citizen Bull’s third win in four starts. He was purchased for $675,000 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment at the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and added another trophy in the case for the group started by SF, Madaket, and Starlight that was dubbed “The Avengers” as they started buying about two dozen male yearlings and turning them over to Baffert.
“We have a good team, a good process, and we’ve been lucky,” said Kumin, whose Madaket partners include New York Mets owner Steve Cohen. “When you have good people picking out the horses, do right by the horses and get good people to turn them into racehorses, good things happen. Bob has a big hand in all of this. It’s been a lot of fun.”