Owner Adam Wachtel reported that a seven-time winner and multiple bets are classified Baby Yoda will chase his first stake win on December 3. The $750,000 Cigar Mile Handicap awarded by NYRA Bets (G1) at Aqueduct race track.
Running for the partnership of Wachtel Stable, Gary Barber and Pantofel Stable and coached by Bill Mott, Baby Yoda most recently placed second as most favorite in Kelso Handicap (G2) on 29th. October. He establishes a moderate pace on his back before being overtaken by a nasty winner and the opponent can return Double crowns inside the sixteenth pole.
Four-time winner of eight starts this season, 4-year-old boy Prospects gelding beat beginner allowance company six races twice in Kentucky earlier last year when it secured a score claiming the allowance option on the NYRA seven-stage and one-mile track, respectively. He was narrowly defeated in the Pelican Stakes at Tampa . Bay in his 2022 debut and came in second after Flight route in Shares Runhappy Malibu (G1) last year at Santa Anita . Park.
“He’s a bit like a folk hero, but he’s never won a wager race,” Wachtel said. “He came close a couple of times, he finished second behind Flightline in Malibu. I hope that we get some weight from some others. But so far, that’s the plan. If he finished yesterday’s work in good condition, we’ll be there next Saturday.”
Baby Yoda is most famous for recording 112 Base Speed Figures at subsidized rates last September at Racecourse Saratogabeat the stable friend who finally won at level 1 Olympic equals 4 1/4 the length is equal to 6 1/2 the length.
“It was quite something. I came in that day on a last-minute trip and I knew he was training well and I knew how good the Olympiad was,” Wachtel recalls. “It was an extraordinary effort. The next morning, I was at training school and other trainers I knew were commenting on how good the horse was.
“He’s a really great horse, running in the big races against the big competitors. We gave him some relief in Kentucky this spring running in some races. warm-up, just to try to regain his confidence.”
Wachtel, co-owner of the 2020 Men’s Lawn Champion horse coached by Mott Channel Builder said the English Channel’s 8-year-old son will resume training in 2023. The $3.7 million earner finished seventh in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1T) final to end a season. Prizes include Elkhorn Stake (G2T) wins in April at Keeneland and Grand Couturier Stakes in July at Belmont Park.
“Physically, the horse looks incredible. He’s eight years old and Bill and his staff said this summer he looks better now than he did two years ago,” Wachtel said. “He’s mottled and he looks phenomenal, and he’s lost nothing.
“As long as he is physically fit, we have no reason not to continue with him. He is resting a bit, but he will not leave the track. We probably won’t. run him until the end of February at the earliest.”
This press release has been edited by BloodHorse Staff for content and style.
