‘Did you see that?’ might have been the first thought racing through fans’ minds as Nevada Beach crossed the finish line at the Sept. 27 Goodwood Stakes (G1) at Santa Anita Park. Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, the 3-year-old colt was making only his fourth career start and wasn’t expected to steal the spotlight from seasoned runners like Full Serrano, last year’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile champion. But that is precisely what happened: Nevada Beach overtook the race, getting into this year in the Breeders Classic at Del Mar, and declaring himself as an emerging star.

Baffert, who is adept at calculated risk-taking with his horses, justified why he believed that Nevada Beach was prepared to host such a mega. “We’ve only been really high on this horse. We’ve always thought he had this

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