Midnight Crooner will look to be assertive in the Sir Beaufort Stakes
After a ninth place finish in the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby for the 3-year-old colt, Midnight Crooner, over 1 1/8 miles, he isn’t getting relief in class, but trainer Bob Baffert is cutting his sophomore colt back in distance for his next start, as the War Chant colt is ready to try his luck over a mile in the Grade 2 Sir Beaufort Stakes.
Alongside Midnight Crooner, there will be plenty of other sophomores to break through in the 1 mile test on turf, which will commence on the opening day of Santa Anita Park’s winter meet on 26 December, 2012.
The Arnold Zetcher owned 3-year-old colt will be the only stakes winner in the field of eight in the Sir Beaufort Stakes, and the Kentucky bred colt will impose his experience over the rest of the field to have that edge to win the race.
Midnight Crooner, prior to the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby disappointment was coming off victory in the Oceanside Stakes at Del Mar going over a distance of 1 mile over the venue’s turf course on 18 July, 2012.
Under jockey Rafael Bejarano, Midnight Crooner, timed his run perfectly to defeat Chips All In in second and Koast in third, as he went to down the 1 mile distance in 1 minute and 34.74 seconds.
Rafael Bejarano took the mount on 6 May, 2012; when on their first race together, the rider guided Midnight Crooner to his second career victory in an allowance optional claimer at Betfair Hollywood Park also over a mile, and also over turf.
Out of Groom Dancer mare Midnight Kiss, Midnight Crooner broke his maiden at third asking over Golden Gate Fields’ synthetic surface going 1 mile on 18 February.
Prior two attempts came on dirt, and both were at Santa Anita Park.
Along with Midnight Crooner, trainer Bob Baffert will also send out his three-year-old trainee, Conspiracy. Owned by Gary L. West and Mary E. West, Conspiracy is yet to win a race in two starts. He failed to defeat maidens in his debut race, and his currently coming off a third place finish in an allowance optional claimer at Aqueduct Racetrack. Both races were run over 1 mile.
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