Kaleem Shah’s Bayern set the pace and kicked away at the top of the stretch, going on to score a 5 3/4-lengths victory in the Grade 2, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby at Parx on Saturday.
Tapiture and Candy Boy finished second and third, respectively. Classic winner California Chrome was in third on the far turn but faded to sixth in his first race since the Belmont Stakes in June.
Final time for the nine furlongs was a track-record 1:46.96.
A runaway winner in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational as well, Bayern was tenth after leading early in the Grade 1 Travers last time out. The three year old has given trainer Bob Baffert five wins out of nine races. Martin Garcia was aboard for Saturday’s victory.
Bred in Kentucky by Helen Alexander, Bayern is a son of Offlee Wild and out of Alittlebitearly, by Thunder Gulch. The colt was a $320,000 juvenile sale for agent Eddie Woods at Fasig-Tipton last year.
“That was just a powerful performance,” Baffert said. “He broke well and they let us go and [jockey] Martin [Garcia] hustled to get away from California Chrome. When California Chrome was pinned in there I knew it was going to be tough for California Chrome. He was the target – we weren’t the target. When Bayern runs like that, no one’s going to beat him, like in the Haskell.
“If you look at him, he doesn’t look like a type of horse that’s going to run a mile and an eighth, a mile and a quarter; he’s sort of a compact horse. He must have a big heart and a big set of lungs and he carries his speed.”
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Bayern got off to a sharp start and settled at the head of the field, with longshot C J’s Awesome hot on his heels around the first turn. California Chrome settled in third under Victor Espinoza on the rail. The pacesetter eased through a first quarter in :24.07, getting the half in :47.89 and six furlongs in 1:10.88.
The Derby and Preakness winner, who had moved up behind Bayern moving around the far turn, found running room at the head of the stretch. California Chrome made a mild bid outside of the leader but soon lost position and wound up finishing off the board.
“I just let him run his race,” Espinoza said after the race. “I didn’t want to override him. He had a long time off. This race, it set it up for the next one.”
“I wish he could have gotten him out, the pace was not that fast,” said California Chrome’s trainer, Art Sherman. “You know you hate making excuses, but I thought if he could have gone after that horse a little bit earlier and got out from behind but the other horse that kept him down on the rail, which I really didn’t want, he is a lot more comfortable if you can ease him out. It didn’t happen, and he hasn’t run in a long time; he probably needed the race.”
Sherman is “almost sure” that California Chrome will point for the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
“Race under his belt,” said Sherman, speaking about Classic preparations, “he’ll be a lot stronger and we’ll train him over at Los Alamitos; we’ll bring him home and get him ready for the Breeders’ Cup.”
Noble Moon and C J’s Awesome dead-heated for fourth, followed by California Chrome, Protonico, and Classic Giacnroll. 

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