INDUSTRY Bible, the Daily Racing Form (DRF), confirmed what most already knew when declaring unbeaten Big Brown 3YO Dortmund ‘the best prospect to have raced on the West Coast this year’. The praise comes after the giant colt’s Group 2 San Felipe Stakes win over the weekend.

With 5 wins from his 5 starts including the G1 Los Alamos Futurity Stakes, Dortmund has re-affirmed himself as the horse to beat in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in a few months time.

His San Felipe win showed another dimension to the Bob Baffert trained colt as the DRF’s Jay Privman wrote so eloquently.

”In his first couple of races, Dortmund wanted to run over horses, he was so headstrong. And, considering how big he is, he might have come close to leaping over them if he wanted. But in his recent races, and through a series of workouts, trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Martin Garcia have taught him to relax, even if he’s on the lead, and the results of that labor were on full display Saturday,” says Privman.

Dortmund hit the front early in the $400,000 San Filipe Stakes (G2, 1709m) and was comfortable maintaining the lead at a sensible pace. Bolo challenged hard on the home turn but Dortmund dug deep to find another gear. On the straight Dortmund and regular jockey Martin Garcia had to respond quickly with long strides to overcome Prospect Park and Bolo by 1 ¼ lengths.

The race commentator was blown away by Dortmund’s strength and heart saying “But Dortmund digging deep and finding more”

“Dortmund is all heart. He shifted his ground a little but he’s clear! And Dortmund, another stylish performance.”

”After setting fractions of 23.12 seconds for the opening quarter, 46.98 for a half-mile, and 1:11.30 for six furlongs, Dortmund threw a 24.21 fourth quarter at his rivals, then completed 1 1/16 miles on the fast main track in 1:41.65. He won by 1 1/4 lengths over Prospect Park, who caught Bolo late to finish second by a half-length,” Privan wrote.

Dortmund’s iconic trainer Bob Baffert sounded confident after his powerful colt’s win. ”After his last race, the light bulb went on,” said Baffert, “Before that, it was flickering.”

Dortmund’s next appearance will be in the coveted Group 1 Santa Anita Derby on April 4 before his much anticipated Kentucky Derby run.