The Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing turned into the long-awaited breakthrough for Baeza, who finally grabbed the spotlight after a string of near-misses against the best of his generation.

The 3-year-old colt by McKinzie, trained by John Shirreffs for C R K Stable LLC and Grandview Equine, had finished second or third in each of his last four starts—always behind division leaders Sovereignty or Journalism. On Saturday, though, the stage was his, and he delivered with an authoritative stretch rally to secure his first Grade 1 victory.

Ridden by Hector Berrios, Baeza settled near the rear of the ten-horse field as So Sandy, pressed by David of Athens, carved out fractions of 23.01 and 46.63. Patiently handled, he began to advance on the backstretch, then uncorked a sweeping four-wide rally on the turn that carried him to the front by the three-sixteenths pole. Under mild urging, he drew off to a 2 ¼-length victory in 1:48.03 for 1 1/8 miles on a fast track.

Behind him, Magnitude rallied for second, while Goal Oriented, who briefly grabbed the lead turning for home, tired late but held third. So Sandy showed the way early before fading to fourth.

For Baeza, the win improved his record to 8: 2-3-2, with career earnings now topping $1.5 million. It was the performance his connections had been waiting for, validating his consistency with a signature Grade 1 score.

At the windows, Baeza, the favorite, returned $4.80 to win, $3.20 to place, and $2.40 to show as the favorite. Magnitude, showing a new ability to relax off the pace and run on, paid $7.80 to place and $5.40 to show, while Goal Oriented brought $3.60 to show. The $2 exacta (8-3) was worth $53.40, the $0.50 trifecta (8-3-6) returned $57.15, and the $0.10 superfecta (8-3-6-1) paid $99.81.

With his Pennsylvania Derby triumph, Baeza has finally stamped himself as a Grade 1 winner, setting the stage for a run at the division leaders.