Uh, no. I never much have been a fan of Baffert as a trainer.
You've got to give the devil his due though ...
13-for-40 with an insane $4.42 ROI in Graded Stakes in '08 - and his numbers were just crazy in Grade 1 races in '09.
People forget that Pioneer of the Nile and Zensational improved a tremendous amount under him...albeit more likely because Mott sucks with 2yo's.
Throw in a 2yo champion in Lookin At Sucky.
And - getting Grade 1 stakes wins from the utterly sucky trio of Internallyflawless, Gabbys Golden Girl, and Richard's Kid is no small task.
Todd Pletcher led all trainers in Graded Stakes wins in 2009 .. and he rightfully wasn't even nominated because of how his horses underperformed. I wouldn't be shocked if Pletcher beat Sheppard for 4th.
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