The top three finishers from last year’s Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita—Intrepid, Desert Gate, and Plutarch—are set to kick off their 3-year-old campaigns this Saturday in the $100,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes. This race, a 1-mile Grade 3 event for sophomores, takes place at Santa Anita.
Trained by Jeff Mullins, Intrepid triumphed in last year’s 1 1/16-mile American Pharoah by three-quarters of a length over Desert Gate, who is one of three horses trained by Bob Baffert and owned by Lewis. Intrepid, a son of Maximus Mischief, later ran in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Del Mar but finished fifth on October 31, ending his Juvenile season. Purchased for $385,000 at last year’s OBS April Two-Year-Old Horses in Training Sale by Dutch Girl Holdings and Irving Ventures, Intrepid will be ridden again by his regular jockey, Hector Berrios.
Desert Gate, by Omaha Beach, made his two-turn debut in the American Pharoah, finishing just behind Intrepid. He has not raced since then. Prior to the Pharoah, Desert Gate captured the G3 Best Pal Stakes and placed second in the G1 Del Mar Futurity, both sprint races at Del Mar. Owned by Michael Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman, Desert Gate cost $260,000 at last year’s OBS April sale. Juan Hernandez is booked as his rider.
Plutarch finished third in the American Pharoah, less than a length behind Intrepid. Since then, he has competed twice on turf, earning his first victory on November 30 over 1 1/8 miles at Del Mar. Owned by Mrs. John Manier, Michael Taber, and Derrick Smith, and sired by Into Mischief, Plutarch will be ridden by jockey Florent Geroux, who recently relocated from the Fairgrounds to Santa Anita.
Making their leap to the Robert B. Lewis Stakes are Robusta and Secured Freedom, both recent maiden winners at Santa Anita. Robusta, a homebred of Calumet Farm by Accelerate and trained by Doug O’Neill, stretched out to a mile in his second outing on January 8, winning by going gate to wire. Emisael Jaramillo, who rode him to his first victory, will be back aboard. Secured Freedom, trained by Tim Yakuteen, secured a win over six and a half furlongs on December 28 in just his second start. Sold for $110,000, he is owned by Leslie A. Amestoy, Pierre Jean Amestoy Jr., and Roger K. Beasley, with Kazushi Kimura as his regular rider.
Here is the post position, jockey, and assigned weight for the Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes (Race 8 of 9), with the approximate post time at 4:00 PM Pacific Time:
- Desert Gate — Juan Hernandez — 120 lbs
- Plutarch — Florent Geroux — 120 lbs
- Cherokee — Antonio Fres — 120 lbs
- Intrepid — Hector Berrios — 124 lbs
- Briggs Army Power — Tyler Bays — 120 lbs
- Robusta State — Emisael Jaramillo — 120 lbs
- Secured Freedom — Kazushi Kimura — 120 lbs
The first race on Saturday’s card begins at 12:30 PM PT. Full entries for the day’s races at Santa Anita can be found at santaanita.com.
This article was originally published by Paulick Report on February 2, 2026.
Fan Take: This upcoming Robert B. Lewis Stakes is a key early test for promising 3-year-olds aiming for the Triple Crown trail, spotlighting talent that could define the sport’s next generation. Horse racing fans should watch closely, as strong performances here often forecast future stars and electrifying competition to come.
