In a little over a month, the Kentucky Derby is set to capture the attention of enthusiasts in the horse racing community. For those who closely follow the sport, it’s hard to miss Bob Baffert’s return to Churchill Downs. For the Hall of Famer trainer, this represents a significant chance to demonstrate his prowess once more, should he secure that seventh Kentucky Derby victory in his career? Nonetheless, the 72-year-old faces challenges ahead, yet he has his team prepared for the competitive race.

One horse trained by Baffert has captured significant attention, having led the Road to the Kentucky Derby for an extended period before recently slipping to third place in the standings. Indeed, I’m referring to Citizen Bull, who presently holds 60 points. Although he appears to be a favored contender for Baffert, a particular horse racing analyst holds a contrasting perspective on the three-year-old colt.

On the NYRA Bets YouTube channel, analyst Matthew DeSantis discussed Citizen Bull, remarking, “Citizen Bull continues to be the horse that Baffert certainly is treating like his alpha in the group, and I think some people think that’s misguided, but you know we don’t see what Bob sees in the mornings, and I agree that Citizen Bull largely has gotten things his own way up on the lead very easily out west, uh, throughout the last couple of victories, particularly the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and the Robert B. Lewis.”

The analyst highlighted the two significant and recent achievements of Citizen Bull with clarity. The events occurred during last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and the Robert B. Lewis Stakes in February. Nevertheless, based on his assessment, there was no horse available to contest Citizen Bull, who could potentially outrun him in his present condition. DeSantis did indeed recognize the uncertainties surrounding the horse that have been raised by the community. In response to this, he noted that only Baffert possesses insight into the true pace of Citizen Bull, given the numerous private training sessions conducted.

“Those were easy leads; no pressure, gate to wire on speed-favoring tracks. Can he do it when he’s actually being pressed? Well, you know the question is, where’s he going to be pressed before he goes to the Kentucky Derby? I don’t know because he’s probably going to be running against other Bob Baffert horses and even a horse like Journalism, who is, I think, the top horse coming out of California,” DeSantis remarked.

The analyst noted that those races presented a favorable scenario for a horse like Citizen Bull. Like many in the community, he is eager to see the three-year-old colt take on genuine competition in the days leading up to the Kentucky Derby. In this context, he did mention a Michael McCarthy-trained colt named Journalism, who has 47.50 points.

Top Comment by Hearod mathem

Dearest all

Share your take

Debate

However, the inquiry remains regarding the Baffert horse, as he notes, “For Michael McCarthy, Journalism is a horse that sits off the pace; he’s not going to be pressing Citizen Bull, so the question is, where’s Citizen Bull really going to be facing pressure now?” Although it appears that Baffert’s colt faces no obstacles, the latest standings reveal two horses that have surpassed Citizen Bull due to accumulating more points.

Potential competition for Bob Baffert’s Citizen Bull

The two horses that could pose a potential challenge to Bob Baffert’s Citizen Bull are Coal Battle and Owen Almighty. The two horses have accumulated 70 and 65 points, respectively, and they have successfully surpassed the three-year-old colt in the rankings. What methods did they employ to reach that outcome? Coal Battle achieved a notable 10 points in both the 2024 Springboard Mile Stakes and the 2025 Smarty Jones Stakes.

Nonetheless, what about the last 50 points? It occurred when he replicated his performance in the Rebel Stakes a few weeks ago, earning an impressive 50 points and markedly enhancing his standing in the rankings. Turning our attention to Owen Almighty, the horse secured five points from the Iroquois Stakes and added another ten points from the Sam F. Davis Stakes.

At the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, the horse delivered an outstanding performance, securing the necessary points to position itself ahead of Citizen Bull and just behind Coal Battle on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. As the countdown continues to the highly anticipated race at Churchill Downs, the anticipation builds to see how these horses will compete against one another.