Rodríguez Carries the Torch for Baffert Brigade on the Road to the Derby

The Hall of Fame trainer had assembled a deep squad aiming for the start of the U.S. Triple Crown, but most of his contenders faltered—except for the son of Authentic, who came through with a victory in the GII Wood Memorial

Rodríguez Delivered a Strong Performance in the Wood Memorial / ADAM COGLIANESE / NYRA

SOUTH OZONE PARK, New York (Special to Turf Diario) – In 2025, Bob Baffert will return to the GI Kentucky Derby, with the suspension previously imposed by Churchill Downs—later extended—now officially in the rearview. The Hall of Fame trainer had assembled a formidable group of 3-year-olds with hopes of making a triumphant comeback at Churchill Downs...

But when push came to shove in the major prep races, most of his contenders came up short—except for Rodríguez, who made the most of his cross-country trip to capture the historic GII Wood Memorial (9f, dirt, $750,000).

While stablemates Citizen Bull (Into Mischief) and the well-regarded Barnes (Into Mischief) faltered in their own backyard in the GI Santa Anita Derby, where victory went to Journalism (Curlin), it was the colt with the surname as a name who stepped up in New York, taking advantage of a below-par field to punch his ticket to the Run for the Roses.

Credit where it's due: Rodríguez turned in a very professional performance, dictating terms from start to finish and drawing clear down the lane to score by 3 1/2 lengths over Grande (Curlin), with Passion Rules (Friesan Fire) another 1 3/4 lengths back in third. The final time was 1:48.15.

With Mike Smith aboard, Rodríguez confirmed the high regard in which he's long been held by his connections. “He’d been working like a horse ready to do something like this,” said Baffert. “We’ve always thought highly of him, but things just hadn’t gone his way in California. I think the added distance is really helping him.”

The win vaulted Rodríguez to fourth on the Derby leaderboard with 121.25 points, making him one of three Baffert-trained horses currently inside the Top 20. The others are Citizen Bull (11th with 71.25 points), whose status remains unclear after his disappointing Santa Anita Derby run, and Madaket Road (Quality Road, 20th with 46 points).

It wasn’t quite the weekend Baffert had envisioned in his quest for a record-setting seventh Kentucky Derby win—he currently shares the all-time lead with Ben Jones, who collected his seven victories between 1938 and 1952 with remarkable efficiency. But thanks to Rodríguez, the door to history remains wide open.