Lord Nelson Wins San Vicente Over Texas Red

Lord Nelson, ridden by Rafael Bejarano, gets ready to pass Texas Red in the San Vicente at Santa Anita. Photo by Nicholas Keith.

“I like what he did today,” trainer Bob Baffert said of Lord Nelson, who beat favorite Texas Red by a neck in the seven-furlong, $200,250 race.

It was the third victory at a sprint distance for the bettors’ second choice, Lord Nelson – who paid $5.80 to win, $2.60 to place and $2.20 to show.

“He was coming up to it like he was training really well. A lot of times they’ll be training great like that and they might surprise you (because) they won’t run,” Baffert said of the 3-year-old son of Pulpit. “He ran like he’s been working.”

Texas Red and Lord Nelson had run against each other once before in the Front Runner at Santa Anita last Sept. 27, when Texas Red finished third and Lord Nelson finished fourth to eventual 2-year-old champ American Pharoah, who is also trained by Baffert.

In October, Lord Nelson went on to easily win the six-furlong Speakeasy Stakes at Santa Anita, then had what Baffert called a “disastrous race” in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs, where he finished fifth as the favorite.

Baffert was non-committal about plans for Lord Nelson, who is owned by Peachtree Stable.

“We’ll just play it by ear,” he said. “We’re just trying to stay healthy.”