At first, Joe Talamo’s move aboard Mucho Gusto in the $150,000 Robert B. Lewis Stakes (G3) at Santa Anita Park seemed puzzling.

The apparent clear pacesetter on paper in a field of five, Michael Lund Petersen’s 3-year-old Mucho Macho Man  colt got out of the gate best, but when Kid Cantina and Magnificent McCool sped up on the inside, Mucho Gusto relaxed in third as he traveled into the first turn.

The stalking tactics worked perfectly, as Mucho Gusto advanced late in the backstretch run of the 1 1/16-mile test, moved to the front in the final turn, and dominated the stretch run to win by 4 3/4 lengths.

“Every race he’s getting better and better,” Talamo said of the colt who won the Bob Hope Stakes (G3) in November at Del Mar and finished second to Bob Baffert-trained stablemate Improbable in the Dec. 8 Los Alamitos CashCall Futurity (G1). “I’m glad I’ve been working him because he’s worked better, too. He settled today like he’s been doing this a hundred times.”

Without any challenge late, Mucho Gusto finished the distance in 1:41.81 over a sloppy (sealed) track.

“He got to sit off the pace, which is good,” Baffert said. “They have to learn to do that, and I was really happy with Joe. He rode him with a lot of confidence today, like he was a good horse, and he was on his own. I didn’t give him any instructions.

“He said, ‘What should I do?’ I said, ‘You need to win this race. That’s what you need to do.'”

Magnificent McCool had a head in front of Kid Cantina through an opening quarter in :23.67, but the race was marred when Kid Cantina broke down early in the backstretch. The California-bred Richard’s Kid  gelding, who came into the race off a second in a Santa Anita starter allowance, was euthanized after the race, according to the California Horse Racing Board stewards at Santa Anita.

Without the pace pressure from Kid Cantina, Magnificent McCool opened a 2 1/2-length lead through a half in :46.55, but when he hit six furlongs in 1:10.51, Mucho Gusto was only a head behind. Last-out Sham Stakes (G3) winner Gunmetal Gray, who was last early, closed to pick up second, a half-length ahead of Easy Shot. Nolo Contestowas scratched before the race by trainer John Sadler, who said he made the decision because of the off track.

“He ran OK,” said Gunmetal Gray’s jockey, Mike Smith. “He was climbing a lot. He had a lot to (overcome).”

Bred in Kentucky by Teneri Farm and Bernardo Alvarez Calderon out of the Giant’s Causeway mare Itsagiantcauseway, Mucho Gusto was a $625,000 purchase by Petersen from Kirkwood Stables’ consignment to the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. He now has three wins and $234,000 in earnings from his four starts. Baffert said earlier in the week the colt could ship out of state for his next prep race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

“I texted Bob to see if I should come for the race, and he was very confident,” Petersen said after the race. “That’s pretty good.

Robert LaPenta and Head of Plains Parners’ Coal Front proved he was back in top form Dec. 22, when he turned in a dominating performance in the $100,000 Mr. Prospector Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park.

After suffering a condylar fracture to his right front leg in 2017 that required surgery and a layoff of 13 months—the second condylar fracture of his short career—the multiple stakes winner returned to racing in the fall of 2018.

The 4-year-old Stay Thirsty  colt’s first effort back in the Nov. 2 Bold Ruler Handicap (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrackwas not on par with his prior efforts, and he finished fifth in the six-horse field.

“Last time at Aqueduct, he drew the one hole going a demanding distance in his first start off a layoff,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, “He got in a speed duel that day, and the track was very deep and tiring. It’s hard to win in those scenarios off that long of a layoff.”

Saturday proved to be a much different story.

After a sharp break from the far outside post 11, Coal Front rated well on the outside in third behind early leader Kroy, who led the field through a half-mile in :45.31.

Four wide with a quarter-mile to go, Coal Front advanced steadily and dueled briefly with Kroy in the upper stretch, where the two made brief contact.

Edging past his rival with a final kick, Coal Front straightened out and pulled away to win by 3 3/4 lengths. The final time for the seven furlongs was 1:23.16.

“It ended up being perfect out there, with so much speed in the race,” said winning jockey John Velazquez. “I let him do his own thing out there, relax well outside horses, and when I asked him he was there for me.”

Cutting through the pack to find clear trip on the rail, Storm Advisory rallied for second and was followed by Heartwood in third. It was another 1 1/4 lengths back to last-out Claiming Crown Rapid Transit Stakes victor Uno Mas Modelo in fourth.

“We’ve targeted this race since then, and he’s trained as well (as) we’d hoped he would have—actually, as well or better than ever—and got the trip we were wanting today,” Pletcher said. “To be honest I’d be really disappointed had he not performed well today based on the way he’s been training.

“The things he’s been showing us training and the way he ran today and galloped out, I think he’s wanting to stretch out. We’ve got to see if that’s a mile or two turns. We’ve got all kinds of options.”

VIDEO: MR. PROSPECTOR S. (G3)