You wouldn't have thought champion trainer Bob Baffert had the stress of an appeal against a recently served 90-day suspension hanging over his head at Del Mar on Saturday.
This is because he was back doing what he does best – training Grade winners.
On this occasion it was Laurel River, who saluted by an authoritative 3.75 lengths in the USD $250,000 Pat O'Brien Stakes.
The result meant the 69-year-old conditioner ran his record number of victories in the Grade 2 feature to eight.
The experience and calmness the great trainer showed on the day meant the appeal against his three-month suspension from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission was an – albeit temporary – distant memory.
Baffert's winning colt Medina Spirit was stripped of his 2021 Kentucky Derby victory after testing positive for betamethasone, which is legal in Kentucky but banned on race day.
The star California conditioner's legal team has said the failed post-Derby drug test followed an administration of Otomax – a cream that contains betamethasone that was administered to Medina Spirit to treat a rash, as opposed to an injection.
A post-race blood sample showed 21 pictograms (a pictogram is one-trillionth of a gram) of the drug in the horse's system.
Baffert is appealing his served sentence to have the suspension removed from his record.
When asked if winning yet another Pat O'Brien Stakes title was a good distraction from his current appeal, Baffert mentioned his ability to compartmentalize external pressures.
“I just stay focused on what's going on right now,” he said.
“Any time you win a Stakes race it's exciting.”
Baffert said Laurel River may start in the Grade 1 Awesome Again Stakes over 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita on October 1.
Or he could have his next start in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland on November 5, his win on Saturday earning a berth in the world championship of racing.
After Saturday's 10-race card, Baffert sat atop the Del Mar trainers' standings with 14 wins for the summer meet so far.
“We're doing well. We're happy,” he said.
Pat O'Brien Stakes-winning jockey Juan Hernandez – who leads the Del Mar riders' standings – said Baffert's relaxed approach enables him to ride to the best of his ability, also pointing out the conditioner has a knack for blocking out external pressure.
“He's a really classy guy and he's a very good trainer,” Hernandez said.
“I like him because he lets you ride his horses. He lets you feel comfortable.
“He told me ‘ride this horse to win'.”