Will Baffert-trained Mor Spirit emerge from Santa Anita prep a Kentucky Derby contender?

The dark brown horse eased into the paddock at Gulfstream Park. He seemed relaxed in the Florida sun as he walked in front of the makeshift auctioneer’s stand in the area normally used for saddling.

Last year was the first time that Fasig-Tipton, a thoroughbred auction company, held their 2-year-old sale at the racetrack. At the back of the crowd stood two well-known racing personalities: trainer Bob Baffert and Bernie Schiappa, horse owner and racing manager for Michael Lund Petersen.

Terence Collier, the marketing manager at Fasig-Tipton, spoke for about a minute about the credentials of horse No. 29. They were better than decent. Auctioneer Tom Biederman started the bidding at $50,000 and what followed was a chaotic 2 minutes, 35 seconds of high-octane selling.

When the figure reached $475,000, the horse became slightly unruly, raising his front legs and jumping around, no doubt getting tired of just standing around.

The 23rd and final bid came from Schiappa. It was for $650,000. Schiappa looked at Baffert and it was clear they were pleased with the purchase.

“When Bob wants to get a horse, he normally gets it,� Schiappa said.

Baffert’s horse-talent IQ has always been off the charts. But in this case, he wasn’t alone knowing that this ridgeling, soon to be named Mor Spirit, could be something special.

Exactly how special remains to be seen, but more will be known Saturday after the running of the $150,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita. It’s the first major prep race on the West Coast for those hoping to make it to the Kentucky Derby.

Mor Spirit, winner of two of four races and considered Baffert’s top 3-year-old, will enter a field of seven in the fourth race. He’s listed as the morning-line favorite at 8/5.

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“This is when it starts, when they start separating themselves,� Baffert said. “It’s like the playoffs now.�

Clark Shepard was there before the playoffs, even the regular and exhibition season. He sets up the mare matings for Stuart Grant, a Delaware attorney who owns the Elkstone Group, which breeds and sells horses. Shepard chose a similar breeding to the one he used that resulted in Animal Kingdom, winner of the 2011 Kentucky Derby.

“It’s a Seattle Slew-line breeding with a Northern Dancer-line breeding,� Shepard said.

Mor Spirit was foaled in Pennsylvania and moved to Windham Hill Farm in Paris, Ky., when he was 2 weeks old.

“You could tell he was athletic looking,� Bev Grovert, manager and owner of Windham Hill said.

Grovert soon discovered a colt with extra personality.

“You couldn’t tell him what to do,� Grovert said. “He always had an attitude that he was better than anybody else. … He’s always been a horse that would assert himself.�

When he was a yearling, he was sent to an auction in Lexington, Ky., and sold for $85,000.

“He was a really good colt, but the sire [Eskendereya] was not very hot at the time,� Shepard said. “He brought as much as he could bring.�

The horse was consigned to Wavertree Stables in Ocala, Fla., and five months later was standing in the paddock at Gulfstream Park, having significantly grown and matured, as the bidding crossed over half-million.

He was put in Baffert’s care and later in the year ran his first race, finishing a strong second by 1 1/2 lengths at Del Mar. After 26 days, he won a mile race at the same track.

At this point, Mor Spirit switched from unrealized potential to a horse to watch for a possible run in the Triple Crown races.

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His jockey, Gary Stevens, compares him to Silver Charm, the horse that gave Baffert his first Kentucky Derby win in 1997.

“They are very similar,� Stevens said. “Silver Charm never won any of his races by a huge margin. He was the heart-attack kid. … When Mor Spirit broke his maiden it was by 4 1/2 lengths. That might be as much as he ever wins by the rest of his career.�

He was also starting to get a track mentality while retaining the impish qualities that was defining his personality, the jockey said.

“He seems to love [the race-day experience],� Stevens said. “It’s still a game, it hasn’t become a job to him. ... He’s still a young playful kid.�

Things didn’t go quite as well in the next race over a sloppy track at Churchill Downs, when Mor Spirit finished second by 1 3/4 lengths.

The horse went back on everyone’s radar with a seemingly effortless win in the Los Alamitos Futurity in mid-December against a better-than-average field of 2 year olds.

“I think he’s improved since then,� Baffert said. “He’s going to have to improve more [to have a shot at the Kentucky Derby]. You want them to take baby steps forward, you don’t want to see a huge forward move because sometimes after that they can go backward on you.�

This is the time when everyone learns about their horses. It’s unclear where Mor Spirit will go after Saturday’s race. Because he came out of last year’s Fasig-Tipton sale, he is eligible for a $1-million bonus if he were to win the Florida Derby in April. But, Baffert has made it clear he prefers to enter races that will set his horses up for the Kentucky Derby rather than just run for money.

“That’s up to the genius,� Stevens said of Baffert. “He’s the scientist that puts the rocket together and I’m the pilot. We learn more about [the horse] with every workout and every race.

“… I don’t know how fast he is. I don’t know how deep the tank is, but I know at some point I’m going to have to get there.�

Saturday, Petersen is scheduled to see his horse run for the first time. And in the order of who’s most important in this transaction, Petersen knows his place.

“When I enter the stables at Santa Anita, I’m done coming with any suggestions,� Petersen said. “I’m just doing whatever Bob says.

“If both of them [Baffert and Stevens] are excited, then I think I should be excited, too.�

Twitter: @jcherwa

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