G1 Pennsylvania Derby winner Baeza transferred to Bill Mott after Shirreffs' death

Baeza, the 4-year-old McKinzie colt who won the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby and has earned $1,643,500 with a 2-3-2 record from nine starts, will be transferred to Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott and is scheduled to ship to Mott’s Payson Park winter base on Thursday, Feb. 19. Owners C R K Stable (Lee Searing) and Grandview Equine (Robert Clay) confirmed the move on Feb. 16 following an interim period with Peter Eurton at Santa Anita.

The ownership change followed the death of longtime trainer John Shirreffs, who died Feb. 12 at age 80, and the subsequent dispersal of Shirreffs’ stable to several trainers. Robert Clay said the choice was obvious: “Lee (Searing of co‑owner C R K Stables) and I conferred over the weekend, and John and Bill were friends. Bill trained the mother (Puca), and I trained with Bill. It was sort of right there in front of us.”

Lee Searing emphasized the human side of the selection, citing Mott’s standing and fit with the owners’ values. “The most important thing is the quality of Bill Mott, the kind of person that Robert Clay and myself relate to. John Shirreffs would probably have liked that pick,” Searing said, adding a pragmatic racing rationale: “I think there are many races we can keep them separate. Everyone wants to get to the Breeders’ Cup.”

Baeza has been based at Santa Anita under interim trainer Peter Eurton and worked there on Sunday, Feb. 15, covering four furlongs (a half‑mile) in :48.80 under rider Amy Vasko. That breeze was his third drill since a sixth‑place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, a step in a campaign that includes third-place finishes in the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes and a breakthrough G1 victory at Parx in the Pennsylvania Derby after breaking his maiden in his third start.

The colt’s pedigree and market context strengthen the business case for the move. Baeza is out of Puca, the 2024 Broodmare of the Year who fetched $5 million at the 2025 Fasig‑Tipton November Sale, and is a half‑brother to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage and 2024 Belmont winner Dornoch. Bred in Kentucky by Grandview Equine, Baeza’s bloodlines and $1.64 million-plus in earnings make him both a racing asset and a commercial prospect as he joins a premier barn.

Bill Mott’s Payson Park stable already houses Sovereignty, the champion 3-year-old colt and Horse of the Year, creating a high‑profile training environment and prompting owners to plan spacing of schedules. With Mott having trained Baeza’s dam Puca, and with owners expressing a desire to base Baeza in the East for “more stakes with bigger purses,” potential targets mentioned include the Pacific Classic and a long-term trip to the Breeders’ Cup.

Shirreffs’ death reshuffled the Southern California landscape: several of his trainees went to Bob Hess Jr. and Leonard Powell, while other Lee Searing-owned horses, such as graded stakes winner Westwood by Authentic, remained with Eurton following a Jan. 31 San Pasqual (G2) victory and a possible next start in the Santa Anita Handicap on March 7. The transfer of Baeza to Mott ties together bloodstock value, owner strategy, and the ongoing recalibration of top stables in the wake of Shirreffs’ passing.