ARCADIA — Two-year-old Himika showed trainer Bob Baffert her future lies in sprints by dominating the $85,000 Anoakia Stakes at Santa Anita on Sunday.
With leading Santa Anita jockey Juan Hernandez aboard, Himika ($3) passed front-runner Revera on the outside and beat her by 4-¼ lengths, covering 6 furlongs in 1:10.40, faster than average for the Anoakia.
Himika, a daughter of Curlin, won the 6-furlong Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar in August in her second start, but then was overmatched by the competition and distances in the 7-furlong Del Mar Debutante and Santa Anita’s 1-1/16-mile Oak Leaf.
“I was happy she was back in winning form,” Baffert told a track TV interviewer. “She basically told us, ‘No two turns for now, but maybe down the road.’”
Going into the final three days of the Santa