Potente nips 67-1 Robusta in G2 San Felipe, earns 50 Derby points

In one of the more dramatic late-closing wins of the Kentucky Derby trail on Saturday at Santa Anita, Potente (Into Mischief) surged late under jockey Juan J. Hernandez to nip 67-1 longshot Robusta by a head in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes (1 1/16 miles), securing the 50 qualifying points that come" This late move, completed in the San Felipe at Santa Anita on March 7, 2026, left Potente with the winner's checks and, explicitly in the race recap, the 50 qualifying points toward the Kentucky Derby.

Potente, by Into Mischief and trained in the San Felipe program by Bob Baffert in Horseracingnation’s pre-race notes, entered off a January 31 maiden victory at Santa Anita listed as 1st (109) in race 6. Jockey Juan J. Hernandez produced the late run that carried Potente to victory; the colt’s top lifetime speed figures in Horseracingnation’s table were recorded as Beyer 79, TFUS 100, Brisnet 90 and HRN 109, and his morning line had been 9-2.

The runner-up shocker was Robusta, listed in the race recap as a 67-1 longshot who finished a head behind Potente. Horseracingnation’s speed-figure table shows Robusta with Beyer 66, TFUS 106, Brisnet 96 and HRN 103, figures that underline the surprise of a beaten 67-1 proposition in a Grade 2 prep. The San Felipe field also included high-profile names Brant and So Happy, with Brant carrying a Beyer of 101 and HRN 119, trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Florent Geroux listed in the pre-race fragments and a last-race line of 3rd (115) in the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile G1 and a morning line of 1-1. So Happy, with trainer Mark Glatt and jockey Mike E. Smith, arrived off a 1st (126) in the 2026 San Vicente G2 and posted a top HRN figure of 128 and a morning line of 2-1.

The result serves as a reminder of volatility on the Kentucky Derby trail: a maiden winner from January listed at 9-2 can eclipse more fancied rivals and a 67-1 longshot can push the pace into a photo finish. The San Felipe’s 50 points explicitly noted in the race fragment immediately elevates Potente’s Derby prospects and changes campaign math for owner and connections, while the presence of two Baffert-trained entries in Horseracingnation’s snippets underscores the trainer’s ongoing footprint in the major preps.

Horseracingnation framed the broader weekend coverage, noting, "The Tampa Bay Derby is race 11, post time 5:35 p.m. EST. Coverage of the Tampa Bay Derby will be part of America's Day at the Races on FS2 beginning at 2 p.m. EST." The site also reminded readers that, "Free past performances for this weekend's stakes are courtesy of Brisnet." Those distribution and data channels shape how owners, bettors and media parse performances like Potente’s late surge and Robusta’s 67-1 wake-up call as the Derby picture tightens.