ARCADIA — By consistently winning classy races in fast times with strong stretch runs, the 3-year-old colt Journalism had already shown a lot of the qualities that people getting a horse ready for the Kentucky Derby like to see. Saturday, he checked one more box. Journalism showed the ability to o vercome adversity when he and jockey Umberto Rispoli escaped a traffic jam and rallied from last to win the $500,000, Grade I Santa Anita Derby. “He hit a roadblock at the three-eighths (of a mile) pole, really got stopped cold,” Aron Wellman, head of the group that owns Journalism, said in a crowded winner’s circle. “It takes a superior horse to be able to gather himself, shrug that off and regain his momentum.” Now, Journalism isn’t only ready for the May 3 Kentucky Derby. He’ll almost certainly be the betting favorite at Churchill Downs. The 1 1/8-mile race, run in a good 1:49.56, was full of subplots. Baeza and Hector Berrios led in the stretch but finished three-quarters of a length back in second, costing that talented but inexperienced colt the points he needed to lock up a spot in the Kentucky Derby. Longshot Westwood and Tiago Pereira finished a distance third. The Bob Baffert-trained duo of Citizen Bull, with Martin Garcia riding, and Barnes, with Juan Hernandez, were the disappointments, bringing up the last two places in the five-horse field. Barnes came up short of the Kentucky Derby qualifying points he was chasing. Fortunately for Baffert, Citizen Bull, the 2024 2-year-old champion, already had the Derby points. “We’re not raising the white flag yet,” said Baffert, who thought Citizen Bull simply got tired in his first start since winning the Robert B. Lewis Stakes on Feb. 1, not that he couldn’t handle the distance. Baffert did have a win Saturday. Rodriguez, shipped east in search of points, came through with a front-running, 3 1/2-length victory in the $750,000, Grade II Wood Memorial at Aqueduct racetrack in New York. With Citizen Bull and Madaket Road, Baffert could have three horses in the Kentucky Derby in the six-time Derby-winning trainer’s return to America’s most famous race after Churchill Downs lifted a three-year ban stemming from the disqualification of Medina Spirit from his 2021 victory for a medication violation. “We have some pretty nice 3-year-olds here in California,” Baffert said. Journalism (who paid $4 as the even-money favorite) is the best of them after adding the 88th Santa Anita Derby to his victories in the Grade II Los Alamitos Futurity in December and Grade II San Felipe Stakes in March. The way he won was important as Rispoli and trainer Michael McCarthy look ahead to the possibility of a 20-horse field in the 1 1/4-mile Kentucky Derby. “If he couldn’t (handle the traffic) against five (horses), he’s going to have an awfully hard time doing it against 20,” McCarthy said. Journalism, starting from the inside post, had to pause behind leaders Westwood and Citizen Bull going into the first turn. Continuing to hug the rail, he had to drop about five lengths behind Citizen Bull when Westwood backed up in his path going into the far turn. Rispoli had to push his way to the outside, bumping with Barnes, to launch his run. “I was trapped on the fence, and I thought, ‘Wow, this isn’t looking good,’” Rispoli said. “I knew my only way out was to push Barnes a little bit. “It’s rare for a horse to get held up at the three-eighths pole and to get back in the race in that way.” McCarthy liked something else about the education the son of Curlin and Mopotism got in his fourth win in five career starts: Attendance at Santa Anita was reported to be 34,312, the biggest on Santa Anita Derby day since 2018, when 39,023 saw Justify finish first to set him up for his Triple Crown sweep. That gave Journalism a small taste of the commotion he’ll face at Churchill Downs, one of the unique features of the Derby. “They’ve all got one box left to check, right?” Wellman said. “The mile and a quarter is not a concern (for Journalism), but none of them are ever going to have run against 20 horses leading up to the Kentucky Derby. The postposition draw will be critical, and of course, you just got to be really lucky on the day. “We we know we’ve got the horse,” Wellman said. Journalism just showed that in one more way. Related Articles Tenma, Silent Law run 1-2 for Bob Baffert in Santa Anita Oaks Santa Anita horse racing consensus picks for Saturday, April 5, 2025 Santa Anita Derby features Journalism, Citizen Bull and big questions Santa Anita horse racing consensus picks for Friday, April 4, 2025 Horse racing column: Michael McCarthy has trained for Derby success ...read more read less