Defunded, who usually likes to set the pace, has had gate issues in the past. This time Baffert was pleased when he saw Defunded standing in the gate “perfectly.” But timing is everything, and a fraction of a second before the gate opened, Defunded stepped back, resulting in his hopping out of the gate and coming away last of the six runners. Baffert and Karl Watson, who owns Defunded with Mike Pegram and Paul Weitman, could only watch as the 1-5 favorite trailed the field while longshot Midnight Mammoth set the pace in what, under normal circumstances, would have been Defunded’s role.
Juan Hernandez demonstrated why he is Santa Anita’s leading jockey. Prior to the 1 1/8-mile Californian, he had only ridden Defunded once, when they led through most of the 1 1/4-mile Santa Anita Handicap (G1) March 4, only to get caught in deep stretch. They finished third that day to Stilleto Boy and Proxy , who finished third and first, respectively, in the 1 1/8-mile Oaklawn Handicap (G2) the same day as the Californian.
“I thought about going to Oaklawn, but there was so much speed in that race,” Baffert said. “Then I was going to skip this race, but Defunded breezed so well the other day.” Baffert, who previously won the Californian in 2012 with Game On Dude , 2017 with Collected , and 2018 with Dr. Dorr , decided to run Defunded. What he discovered was that Defunded could come from off the pace just as professionally as he could set it.