RACING CAREER

Starting his career in early September at Del Mar, this colt by Quality Road won at 6 ½ furlongs first time out in a near gate-to wire-effort. Perhaps a bit distance limited, National Treasure hasn’t found the same footing since stretching out and stepping up in class. 

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert entered him in the Grade I American Pharoah at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita, where he ran second the entire way around and faded in the stretch. The Breeders’ Cup Juvenile wasn’t much different, with a solid yet unspectacular third place finish where he never had winning chances.

Still, a good effort in the Grade III Sham Stakes as the odds-on favorite would put him into Derby contention, but another third-place finish led him into the Santa Anita Derby as a bit of a dark horse (sorry!). 

Finishing nearly three lengths behind the top three in that try left this Baffert trainee looking for some answers against the higher-class racers of his age-group, and has him aiming for some distance success in the Preakness where he will need to take a clear step forward to have winning chances. 

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LAST RACE TRIP NOTES

4th, Santa Anita Derby – Had a good break but was not the fastest and quickly settled into third behind longshots One in Vermillion (54-1) and Low Expectations (40-1), taking the outside position next to favored Practical Move while three lengths behind the lead duo. Moving up the backstretch he crept closer outside of Low Expectations while Practical Move skimmed the rail to that rival’s inside, and he entered the turn three-wide while coming under a ride. Nearing the lane he was in and among horses, but as the field straightened for home, the lead group kicked away from him. He continued to try, passing a rival in the stretch, but was no threat to the top trio.

BLOODLINES

Quality Road has been one of the most successful North American based sires since his retirement from racing in 2010. He has produced a whopping 31 Grade I winners, including the 2022 Saudi Cup winner Emblem Road, and 2019 Pegasus World Cup winner City of Light.

Some of his best offspring have been trained by Bob Baffert, with Abel Tasman and Corniche leading the way from his barn amassing $2,793,385 and $1,263,500 respectively. 

Medaglia d’Oro has also been one of the top broodmare sires with over seven million in earnings by his grandchildren in 2023. Two of National Treasure’s three siblings to raise have surpassed $200,000 in career earnings.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

There is still plenty of hope for National Treasure after a tough Santa Anita Derby as the favorite, now switching back to Bob Baffert’s barn giving him his first Triple Crown entry in nearly two years. 

A manager for SF Racing, Tom Ryan, recently told the Blood-Horse, “Bob has told us repeatedly that time is going to be this horse’s best friend. I thought he ran a good race in the Santa Anita Derby and he received a good speed figure for it… I don’t think he got the clear path he needed at a key moment in the race but he came out of it well. He’s shown us a very high level of ability, so hopefully we can get the stars to align in Maryland.” 

With the switch back into Baffert’s barn following the Derby points trail, this one could be dangerous with a better trip, as Baffert looks to add to his already record seven Preakness victories.