Arcadia, CA
Trainer Bob Baffert finished one-two with Collected and Let's Meet in Rio in the $100K Sham Stakes at Santa Anita.
Collected took the lead at the top of the stretch and never looked back down the lane. Ridden to victory by jockey Martin Garcia and trained by Baffert. The race favorite did not disappoint.
Let's Meet in Rio ran an eye-catching second, closing from last in the eight-horse field to be second without a lot of urging from jockey Kent Desormeaux.
The Baffert trained duo finished within 1 1/4 lengths of one another with Laoban completing the trifecta 1 1/2 lengths back in third.
Collected returned $5.00 to win and ran the 1-mile race in a not-so-quick 1:38 final time.
Third place finisher Laoban entered the race a maiden and is someone to keep an eye on for the future around two turns. He was four-wide throughout the race and kept to task down the lane.
All three of the top finishers are expected to race back on the dirt as Kentucky Derby talk 2016 is on the horizon.