Arcadia, CA (SportsNetwork.com) – Odds-on favorite Dortmund fought back along
the rail to edge second pick Firing Line and win Saturday’s $150,000 Robert B.
Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita.
The 1 1/16-mile Robert B. Lewis is part of the Kentucky Derby points system
and allocated 10 points to the winning 3-year-old.
Trained by Bob Baffert, Dortmund, with jockey Martin Garcia, broke from the
outside post as the 3-5 favorite in the five-horse field with Firing Line,
ridden by Gary Stevens, to his inside as the 9-5 second choice. Both colts
were making their season debuts.
Tizcano set the early pace with Dortmund and Firing Line pressing the leader.
The two favorites took over the lead as Tizcano tired badly and separated
themselves from the field on the turn for home.
The two rivals battled down the stretch with Firing Line taking a short lead
inside the furlong pole. Dortmund battled back along the rail to defeat Firing
Line by head with the rest of the field far back.
“It was exciting, because I thought we were beat,” noted Baffert, “and when he
came back like it made me really appreciate it a lot more. It makes it sweeter
because going in I thought he was the best horse, then that horse went by him
and I thought maybe he’s not as good as I thought.”
Rock Shandy was third followed by Hero Ten All and Tizcano. Sebastian’s Heart
was an early scratch.
The time for the Lewis Stakes was 1:42.20 on a fast track.
Owned by Kaleem Shah, Dortmund won his second stakes and added $90,000 to his
bankroll. The chestnut colt is undefeated in four starts for $449,400.
Dortmund defeated Firing Line in last December’s Los Alamitos Futurity by a
head. He won first time out on Nov. 2 at Santa Anita and followed on Nov. 29
with a 7 3/4-length victory in an allowance race at Churchill Downs.
Dortmund paid $3.20, $2.10 and $2.10. Firing Line returned $2.20 and $2.10,
and Rock Shandy paid $2.10 to show.
