Peachtree Stable and Natalie Baffert's Serengeti (Algorithms) romped home 11 lengths in front in a five-furlong maiden dash at Santa Anita June 25, earning 'TDN Rising Star' status, and the imposing colt makes his stakes debut in Saturday's GII Best Pal S. at Del Mar. The race will provide an acid test, however, as he meets Kaleem Shah's Run Away (Run Away and Hide), undefeated in two starts for trainer Simon Callaghan. Run Away most recently was a comfortable winner of the July 3 Santa Anita Juvenile S. and has posted four workouts over the local strip in the interim. Serengeti has followed a similar work pattern for Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, and the speedy colt will attempt to stretch his speed from five furlongs to 6 1/2 furlongs Saturday.
Wesley Ward has enjoyed considerable success shipping horses to Del Mar in recent years and will attempt a somewhat unconventional move, shipping Arawak (Uncle Mo) in for the Best Pal off a 12th-place finish in the G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot June 20. The well-traveled colt broke his maiden at first asking at Belmont Park in May and has been drilling at Ward's Keeneland base in recent weeks.
Fleetwood (Munnings) enters off a runner-up finish in his July 22 local debut, carrying the silks of Big Chief Racing, Rocker O Ranch and trainer Keith Desmormeaux–the same connections who campaigned 2016 GI Haskell Invitational and GI Preakness S. winner Exaggerator (Curlin). Peter Redekop BC's Armour Plate (Into Mischief) shortens up in distance and switches back to dirt after graduating from the maiden ranks in front-running fashion over the turf at Santa Anita July 1, while Dia de Pago (Macho Uno) makes his first start for trainer Vladimir Cerin off a first-out score going five furlongs at Gulfstream Park June 18.
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