Citizen Bull wins Robert Lewis Stakes, giving trainer Bob Baffert 1-2-3 finish at Santa Anita

ARCADIA, Calif. — Citizen Bull won the $200,000 Robert Lewis Stakes by 3 3/4 lengths at Santa Anita on Saturday in the 3-year-old colt’s first start since winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Citizen Bull ran a mile in 1:36.71 under jockey Martin Garcia. The colt earned 20 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby in May.

“The champ is back,” Baffert said. “It’s funny, you see him and you don’t realize that he has those gears. He won’t show you that in the morning, but he does have gears.”

Rodriguez was second and Madaket Road, giving Baffert a 1-2-3 finish in the Grade 3 race for 3-year-olds. The Hall of Fame trainer won the Lewis for the seventh consecutive time and 13th overall.

Citizen Bull, last year’s 2-year-old champion male, bobbled out of the starting gate, but quickly went to the lead while racing on the inside.

“When I was warming him up, he just wanted to go and you could see that he was ready,” Garcia said. “When the gates opened it was like the ground broke underneath him. He just broke too fast, but right away he recovered.”

Citizen Bull paid $3.80, $2.20 and $2.10 at 4-5 odds. Rodriguez returned $2.40 and $2.10, while Madaket Road paid $2.10 to show.