ARCADIA, Calif. - Sidney's Candy led all the way in winning the Santa Anita Derby. Behind him, drama unfolded for 4-5 favorite Lookin At Lucky, whose troubled third-place finish set off the tempers of jockey Garrett Gomez, trainer Bob Baffert and his wife.
Sidney's Candy won by 41⁄2 lengths Saturday, giving 20-year-old jockey Joe Talamo a Kentucky Derby contender a year after his mount I Want Revenge was scratched as the early favorite the morning of the race.
After bobbling at the start, Talamo took Sidney's Candy to the lead, just as they did in winning the San Vicente and San Felipe on the same synthetic surface. The colt ran 1 1-8 miles in 1:48.00 to win the West Coast's major prep for the May 1 Kentucky Derby.
Lookin At Lucky was fourth much of the way before being shuffled back in the incident. He re-rallied on the inside to hit the board 11⁄2 lengths back in third.
Afterward, Baffert blasted Gomez for what he called a "horrendous" ride.
"I cannot believe he rode him that way. It's ridiculous," the Hall of Famer said. "When I saw him on the rail, I said, 'What is he doing?"'
Gomez didn't speak to Baffert immediately after the race, but when informed of the trainer's comments, he said, "I thought I was riding a good race. We were in a perfect trip. What happened shouldn't have happened."
A stewards inquiry was posted after the race for an incident involving Lookin At Lucky, who took up near the 5⁄16 pole.
The horse appeared to get squeezed down along the rail, forcing Gomez to stand up in the saddle.
"I almost went over his head because he (Victor Espinoza) bounced me off the fence and then my horse stuck his legs in the ground to make sure he was protecting himself," he said. "He stopped to a walk."
But there was no disqualification because the other horses involved, Who's Up and Alphie's Bet, finished behind Lookin At Lucky.
Sent off at 7-2 odds, Sidney's Candy paid $9.60, $5.40 and $3 for owner Jenny Craig, the weight loss maven who named the colt after her late husband Sid. Setsuko returned $10 and $4.80, while Lookin At Lucky paid $2.10 to show.