Imagination won the $300,000 San Felipe Stake by a head at Santa Anita on Sunday, giving trainer Bob Baffert a 1-2 finish and his record ninth win in the Kentucky Derby prep after he scratched odds-on favourite Nysos.
All of Baffert's 3-year-old colts are ineligible to run in the Kentucky Derby again this year, so Imagination and second-place Wine Me Up didn't receive any Derby qualifying points.
Baffert scratched Nysos on Saturday. It's possible the colt will be pointed toward the Santa Anita Derby on April 6.
With Frankie Dettori aboard for the first time, Imagination ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:44.55 and paid $3.80 and $2.40. Wine Me Up returned $2.60 to place. There was no show wagering because of the four-horse field.
Mc Vay was third and earned 15 Derby qualifying points. Scatify was fourth to earn 10 Derby points.
