Desert Gate Wins Hot Springs Stakes in Gate-to-Wire Domination at Oaklawn

Desert Gate needed exactly one mile to settle the matter. From the moment Flavien Prat angled the colt out of the rail post at Oaklawn Park on Thursday, the $200,000 Hot Springs Stakes was never in doubt, a gate-to-wire demolition that ended 9¾ lengths clear of the competition in a final time of 1:37.03 on a fast track.

Prat, a two-time Eclipse Award winner riding Desert Gate for the first time, had a straightforward plan. "I wanted to get him out of there and get him into his rhythm," he said. "He jumped OK and I was able to get him on the lead. From there after that, I thought he was traveling very well."

The colt, also racing in blinkers for the first time, validated that approach immediately. He broke from the rail, moved to the front turning into the backstretch, and posted fractions of 23.33 seconds at the quarter, 46.58 at the half, and 1:10.37 through six furlongs. At seven-eighths, clocked in 1:23.61, the race was already over. Oaklawn's mile course begins and ends at the sixteenth pole, and Desert Gate had the short stretch run to himself, drawing clear without being asked a serious question.

Soldier N Diplomat, the 9-5 second choice under Irad Ortiz Jr., tracked from the three path but trailed by a length through the early fractions. He lost contact from the four path in upper stretch and evened out in the final furlong, finishing a distant second, 7¾ lengths ahead of 11-1 shot Race Ready, ridden by Ramon A. Vazquez. Top Level, the fourth starter, also ran. There was no show wagering with only four runners going to the post.

The victory was a rebound performance for a colt who had stumbled in his 3-year-old debut. Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert had pointed Desert Gate toward this spot with confidence. "It's a good spot," Baffert said before the race. "It's a pretty competitive spot. But he's doing well, so I thought we'll try that." Baffert had given the colt four published workouts at Santa Anita since the Robert B. Lewis before shipping to Arkansas for the colt's first start outside California.

Desert Gate is a son of Omaha Beach, the 2019 Arkansas Derby winner, trained by Baffert for owners Michael E. Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman. Bred by Twin Oaks Bloodstock, he was purchased for $260,000 at the 2025 OBS March sale of 2-year-olds in training. The Hot Springs was his third win from six starts, lifting his career earnings to $372,000. He is a Triple Crown nominee.

Desert Gate returned $2.80 to win and $2.10 to place. Soldier N Diplomat paid $2.20 to place. The $1 exacta on the 1-7 combination returned $2.50, while the 50-cent trifecta covering 1-7-4 paid $3.45. The $1 Pick 3 on the 5-3/7-1 sequence returned $79.20.

Three horses were scratched before the race. Bricklin was withdrawn to point toward Saturday's $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (G1), trainer Rodolphe Brisset confirmed. Strategic Risk, winner of the Smarty Jones Stakes, was scratched after emerging from a recent workout with an ankle issue, according to trainer Mark Casse. Lincoln's Law also drew a stakes scratch.

The win opened Arkansas Derby week at Oaklawn with the kind of authority Baffert's barn has come to expect from this ownership group. Whether Desert Gate takes the next step toward the Arkansas Derby or a Triple Crown trail start, Thursday's performance put the rest of the 3-year-old division on notice.