Hot Springs, AR
Cupid took the Rebel Stakes in wire-to-wire fashion at Oaklawn Park Saturday afternoon to give trainer Bob Baffert his record sixth victory in the event.
The three-year-old forged his way to the lead through opening fractions of :22, :46, 1:12, and showed a lot of stamina holding on to a 1 1/4 length victory over a closing Whitmore.
Baffert has now won the Rebel six out of the last seven years, starting with Lookin at Lucky back in 2010.
Cupid was making his stakes debut and really showed some guts according to his trainer when fighting back in the lane.
The son of Tapit returned $7.80 to win and ran the 1 1/16 mile distance in an average time of 1:43.
Whitmore, finished in second place, was making up ground, but Cupid wasn't going to let him pass.
Creator closed well too and finished another 1 3/4 lengths back in third.
Favored Suddenbreakingnews finished in fifth, but really did not have an enjoyable trip breaking from post 14. Look for him to be more valuably in his next start.
Cupid earned $540K for his victory in the Grade II Rebel and now has two career wins in four starts.