International trip for The Factor after a win in the Malibu Stakes
The Malibu Stakes for some was a very important race, but not as important for Bob Baffert trained, The Factor, who had to prove his potential after giving way too easily in his last two starts and when he drew the outside post at Santa Anita in the Malibu,
the onus was on him and his trainer to validate their last two failures.
Right from the bell to the get go, The Factor did not let anyone come near him on a very fast Santa Anita dirt track, and it was a wire to wire win for the son of War Front, out of mare Greyciousness by Miswaki.
The Kentucky bred revived his career with a 3 ½ lengths victory over Rothko, after defeats in Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and Grade 1 Ancient Title.
The Factor proved his worth after a disappointing fall, and now he has gone on to bag four stakes races out of his 9 career starts. He was sent off as the 5 to 2 favourite in the Malibu Stakes over the dirt track that was bound to play fast as he downed
the seven furlong distance in 1 minute and 19.89 seconds, and he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 106.
After his heroics at Santa Anita Park, The Factor might have earned himself a trip to Dubai to participate in the $2 million Golden Shaheen for sprinters on 31 March, 2011.
“Right now, there are a lot of options,” Baffert said. “My job is to keep him undefeated and win Grade 1’s. Make money with him.”
After his loss in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, Bob Baffert thought that there was something wrong with his 3-year-old colt and sent him to a vet to get a clearer picture on any type injur he might have sustained during the race.
“He couldn’t find anything wrong with him, so we kept him there a couple of weeks and then brought him here,” Baffert said. “I really wasn’t thinking of running him in the Malibu, and all of a sudden he started coming around.”
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