Hall of Famer Bob Baffert’s horse, Nothing Like You, won the GII Starlet S. at Los Alamitos, marking Baffert’s seventh consecutive victory in the race.
‣ Hall of Famer Bob Baffert achieved his seventh consecutive victory in the GII Starlet S. at Los Alamitos with the horse Nothing Like You (Malibu Moon).
‣ Nothing Like You, a $67,000 KEENOV weanling, $20,000 KEESEP yearling and $190,000 OBSAPR juvenile, is campaigned in partnership by Georgia Antley Hunt, Jeff Giglio and John L. Rogitz.
‣ Nothing Like You becomes the 55th graded/group winner worldwide for the late leading sire Malibu Moon.
NOTHING LIKE YOU ($6.20) pulls away from trouble in the stretch and takes the GII Starlet at @LosAlRacing with @JJHernandezS19 in the saddle for @BobBaffert‘s seventh straight win in the stakes. Congratulations to owners Hunt, Giglio or Rogitz! pic.twitter.com/SpCPA3xX4D
— TVG (@TVG) December 10, 2023
“Nothing Like You” is a horse that’s been making waves. This Malibu Moon offspring gave Bob Baffert, a Hall of Famer, his seventh straight victory in the GII Starlet S. at Los Alamitos. It all happened on a Saturday evening, just as the sun was setting.
The horse was drawn on the rail in a field of six. Juan Hernandez, the jockey, sent her to the front. She was pressed through an opening quarter in :23.24, which is pretty fast if you ask me.
She gained some separation through a half mile in :47.40. Then, she let it out a notch on the far turn. She ran up the score in the stretch, winning by 5 1/4 lengths over Great Forty Eight (Constitution).
But that’s not all. Great Forty Eight was disqualified from second and placed fourth. Why? He shifted out and interfered with the favored GII Chandelier S. winner Chatalas (Gun Runner) in the stretch. The maiden Flynn’s Chance (Medaglia d’Oro), third across the line, was elevated to second.
Nothing Like You, a $67,000 KEENOV weanling, $20,000 KEESEP yearling and $190,000 OBSAPR juvenile, is campaigned in partnership. The partners are Georgia Antley Hunt, Jeff Giglio and John L. Rogitz.
Baffert had something to say about the race. “(Nothing Like You) was pretty fresh today because I backed off on her a bit because I’d just run her at Del Mar,” he said. “Juan (Hernandez) said she popped out of there and he said nobody wanted the lead so he just took it.”
Baffert continued, “Once I saw her on the backside with that long stride you could tell she was in control of the race. It took Nothing Like You a while to come around. She wasn’t real quick. We knew once we stretched her out that would be her game. The longer the better for her.”
Nothing Like You earned her diploma by 6 1/2 lengths over the aforementioned Great Forty Eight. This was while making her two-turn debut at fourth asking at Santa Anita Oct. 14. She turned back to seven furlongs to narrowly annex the Desi Arnaz S. at Del Mar last time Nov. 18.
Hernandez also had some thoughts. “She’s improving with every race and a distance is what she has always wanted,” he said. “She relaxed perfectly. I let her go at the head of the stretch and she took off.”
Pedigree Notes: Nothing Like You, a $190,000 OBS April breezer (:10), becomes the 55th graded/group winner worldwide for the late leading sire Malibu Moon. She is the first graded winner and one of three stakes winners for her broodmare sire Brother Derek. A three-time stakes winner at Hastings, Nothing Like You’s dam Miss Derek has also produced Tepin S. winner South of France (Quality Road). Nothing Like You is her most recent produce.
Saturday, Los Alamitos ThoroughbredSTARLET S.-GII, $200,500, Los Alamitos, 12-9, 2yo, f, 1 1/16m, 1:44.78, ft.1–NOTHING LIKE YOU, 120, f, 2, by Malibu Moon.
The race was a sight to behold. NOTHING LIKE YOU ($6.20) pulled away from trouble in the stretch and took the GII Starlet at Los Alamitos with Hernandez in the saddle. It was Baffert’s seventh straight win in the stakes. Congratulations to owners Hunt, Giglio or Rogitz!
