Mizumi powers to Summertime Oaks win, gives Baffert sixth victory
Mizumi answered the debut question in style, stretching from a May sprint to a graded-stakes rout at Santa Anita and giving Bob Baffert his sixth Summertime Oaks win.
Mizumi made the early hype look justified. The Justify filly turned a promising debut into a graded-stakes statement on June 13 at Santa Anita Park, running away with the $100,500 Summertime Oaks and giving Bob Baffert a record sixth victory in the race.
The 3-year-old filly handled 1 1/16 miles on dirt, carried 120 pounds from post 1 and finished the Grade 3 in 1:43.41 on a fast track. Juan Hernandez rode her for Baoma Corp, and once she settled into gear, the race was over as a contest. Wolf Hill was second, 3 3/4 lengths back, Bank Shot held third, another 2 3/4 lengths behind, and 7 1/2 lengths separated the rest of the finishers in a seven-horse field.
That is what makes the result matter beyond the margin. Mizumi was not being asked to beat an empty stakes field. Bank Shot had finished third in the GII Santa Anita Oaks, Marjoram arrived as a Grade III turf winner, and Daring Pursuit and Sugaree added more depth to the lineup. Mizumi still made them look ordinary. For a filly who had broken her maiden only May 2 in a 6 1/2-furlong sprint at Santa Anita, the jump in trip and class could have exposed her. Instead, it confirmed that the maiden win was the first clue, not the peak.
Santa Anita had already signaled the barn’s confidence before the race, describing Mizumi as a promising debut winner and noting that she had put in two quick works for Baffert. That kind of progression matters in the 3-year-old filly division, where a horse that can carry speed from a sprint into a route can separate quickly from the pack. Mizumi’s 2026 earnings climbed to $99,000 with the victory, and her profile now reads like that of an unbeaten filly with legitimate summer upside.
The track record at 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita is 1:39.18, so Mizumi was not touching history clock-wise. She did not need to. The point was control, and she had it from the moment she straightened for home. The debut was real, the stakes win was real, and the ceiling now looks much higher than a one-race flash.
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