Bob Baffert Hints at Zedan Stables Move After $3 Million Worth Horse’s Victories

A legendary trainer who has an eye for spotting future winners, and an enterprise that has the deep pockets and has the same zeal for winning as Bob Baffert himself – well, the sustained success the Zedan Stables has seen is no coincidence. This 2025 season itself, the Baffert-Zedan connection has been seen in the Winner’s Circle on so many occasions, especially after the season entered Del Mar. And now, the veteran trainer brings more exciting news.

Surprisingly, the popular trainees of Baffert, whom we expected to come big, have faltered. Citizen Bull, Barnes, Rodriguez, Goal Oriented – all of the 3-year-olds couldn’t keep up with season champions Sovereignty, Journalism, Sierra Leone, and Fierceness. But, on to the scene arrived Baffert’s new crop of 2-year-olds, who have set the pace on the Del Mar racetrack.

The Del Mar Futurity, the Del Mar Debutante, the Sorrento Stakes, and the Best Pal Stakes – all 4 juvenile races and all have been claimed by Baffert’s thoroughbreds. And this is not an accident. It seems Baffert and Zedan Stables have been working towards an objective. “It’s what we shoot for, developing these young horses,” Baffert said while talking to DRF after two of his Zedan juveniles gave impressive showings on Sunday, September 7. And the iconic trainer left us with something to look forward to. “We have some more coming up.”

From what we have seen already, the upcoming season looks bright for Bob Baffert. While this year’s Triple Crown races went bust, the 6-time Kentucky Derby winner can surely be very happy about how Brant has started his career. After the Del Mar Futurity win on Sunday, September 7, Baffert’s comments about his new champion tell everything you need to know. “I’m just glad he’s in my barn and I don’t have to run against him,” the 19-time Futurity winner said in a phone interview.

And if that wasn’t enough, soon after the Futurity win, on the same day, another one of Zedan’s juveniles secured a dominant win in a maiden special weight race, showcasing the path Baffert is on. Boyd is a $1.05 million purchase at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Auction of 2-year-olds in May this year. The Violence-sired colt impressed on Sunday with his Beyer Speed Figure of 92 as the Zedan colt won his 5 1⁄2-furlongs race by 5 ¼ lengths.

Amr Zedan, the owner of Zedan Stables, hasn’t hesitated to dig deep into the bankroll. And how fitting it is to the narrative that they went as high as $2.9 million just recently for a yearling in the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale on August 5. The Gun Runner pedigree dictated the move as Baffert saw promise of future success. And guess who also has links with Gun Runner?

Bob Baffert’s star juvenile, who has got everyone hyped

Brant entered the Del Mar Futurity as a Morning line favorite. And he was competing with Baffert’s own – the trainer had 4 in the field as he didn’t leave anything to chance at his most successful race. But it was always about seeing who was Baffert’s best. And Brant didn’t disappoint.

Bought this March for $3 million purchase at the Ocala Breeders’ Sale for 2-year-olds in training, the Gun Runner colt has a price tag to justify. But where others saw a pressure to perform, we saw why Zedan and Baffert went so high at the sales ring.

With a 1-length win over Best Pal Stakes winner Desert Gate, Brant showed why everyone is so hyped. The Beyer Speed Figure of 91 was the highest since 2022. But more impressive was his debut, where he hit a rating of 101. FanDuel TV analyst Dubbs Anderson got the stats down for the fans to understand how special this Bob Baffert trainee is gearing up to be. “This horse is going to join a very small, select group of horses that won with 100+ Beyer on debut,” the analyst said.

And what Anderson predicted a month back now seems to be the only realistic option for Bob Baffert. “That horse is now basically the big clear favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.” Right now, Bob Baffert would only have one priority – keeping his $3 million star juvenile healthy and ready to go when the Breeders’ Cup Championship hits the spotlight at Del Mar.