Subsanador Upsets Baffert Duo In Inaugural California Crown Thriller

The first-ever Grade 1, $1 million California Crown presented by SirDavis American Whisky lived up to all the hype Saturday at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif. In a thriller of a horse race, Subsanador under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith got his head down on the wire to prevail in a three-horse photo with National Treasure and Newgate.

Sent off the 6-1 third choice, Subsanador got a dream trip saving ground while comfortably tracking pacesetter National Treasure and jockey Flavien Prat. Entering the stretch, Smith angled Subsanador outside of National Treasure, while Newgate had begun his rally from well off the pace. It was then a three-way duel to the wire with Subsanador prevailing by a head while in tight quarters in between horses.

“I knew my horse could handle the pocket,” said Smith, who in the previous race won the G2, California Crown Eddie D. Stakes aboard First Peace. “I knew National Treasure would be the speed … so I knew to lay back.”

Trained by Hall of Famer Richard Mandella, Subsanador completed 1 1/8 miles in 1:48.68. National Treasure, trained by Bob Baffert, held second by a nose over stablemate Newgate after setting fractions of :22.89, :47.19, 1:11.26 and 1:36.17 for a mile.

The California Crown is a Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" Challenge Series race, providing the winning horse with a fees-paid berth for the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic, to be run at Del Mar Nov. 2.

“Everything went well,” Mandella said. “This was tight and he was cooped up a little bit, I didn’t know how he’d react. I was very proud that he kept trying.”

Imported last year from Argentina, where he was a Group 1 winner on turf, Subsanador was making his fifth U.S. start and third for Mandella. Subsanador started his domestic career trained by John Sadler. He was fourth in the G2 San Antonio last December and second by a head to Newgate in the G1 Santa Anita Handicap in March. He then was sold privately to Wathnam Racing and transferred to Mandella.

In two previous starts for his new connections, Subsanador was fourth in the G2 Hollywood Gold Cup in May before shipping to Monmouth Park and winning the G3 Philip H. Iselin on Aug. 17.

“We’ve never been in a tight situation like that,” Mandella said. “At Monmouth, he never had a straw in his path.”

Subsanador, a 5-year-old horse by the Distorted Humor stallion Fortify, improved his overall record to 17: 9-2-1. The $600,000 winner’s share pushed his earnings past the million-dollar mark to $1,003,124.

“I’ve got to give Richard Mandella all the credit,” said Smith, who rode Subsanador for the first time in the Iselin. “He’s got this horse so confident, he thinks he owns the place (Santa Anita).”

In addition to National Treasure and Newgate, Baffert also started Muth. The 3-year-old was bet down to the 3-2 favorite and finished last.

“We just got beat,” Baffert said. “Muth didn’t bring his A game. He just didn’t fire today. The other two horses ran their hearts out. We just got beat.”

Subsanador paid $14.20, $5.40 and $3.60. National Treasure returned $3.00 and $2.40 and Newgate paid $3.80.