Bob Baffert saddles his 14th Los Al Futurity winner

Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Two-year-olds who seek Classics glory in the New Year and the first Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" race for 2024 kept the clock moving in weekend horse racing action.

It was all about the youngsters in Japan, too, as a promising son of Palace Malice remained undefeated in the first of two big Grade 1 juvenile events there.

Let's have a look.

Juvenile

Even when his favorites falter, trainer Bob Baffert seems to maintain a stranglehold on California's top 2-year-old races.

Thus, Wynstock went to the post in Saturday's $200,000 Grade II Los Alamitos Futurity as the least-favorite of three Baffert runners and the second-longest chance in the five-horse field.

But jockey Kyle Frey took the Solomini colt right to the lead, turned back a challenge from Stronghold and won by 1/2 length over that one. Baffert's other two, odds-on favorite Coach Prime and Wine Me Up, were third and fourth, respectively.

Wynstock took three tries to get his first win and now has back-to-back victories. For Baffert, it was his 14th win in the event.

"This horse looked outstanding coming into the paddock today," Baffert said of Wynstock. "He was on his toes and actually looked like he was going to run in the Champion of Champions [quarter horse stakes]. He's a stout, beautiful horse."

Coach Prime, who broke his maiden in his previous start, "was sort of in and out the whole way," Baffert added. "He got a little warm behind the gate and got shuffled back a bit. He's still green."

Elsewhere among the youngsters:

Antonio of Venice overcame some traffic issues in Saturday's $100,000 Great White Way Division of the New York Stallion Stakes, and then fought past Brick Ambush to win by 3/4 length over that rival.

Brick Ambush then was set down to fourth for interference, touching off a bit of an uproar on social media from fans who didn't quite see it that way. Antonio of Venice, a Laoban colt trained by Rudy Rodriguez, got his second win from six starts.

On Friday night at Remington Park, Otto the Conqueror drafted right behind Glengarry through most of the $300,000 Remington Springboard Mile, ranged up outside that rival while finishing the stretch turn and battled through the lane to win by 3/4 length.

Glengarry, with Tyler Gaffalione up for trainer Steve Asmussen, held second by 1 1/4 lengths over Magic Grant. It was the third-straight win for the Street Sense colt with the previous two at Churchill Downs.

Otto the Conqueror received 10 points on the "Road to the Kentucky Derby" leaderboard, moving him into the No. 7 spot in early returns.

Wynstock didn't acquire any points because Baffert remains under the Churchill Downs interdict -- banned from the track and from participation in the Derby doings at least through 2024.

Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Fierceness remains atop the leaderboard with 30 points. BloodHorse reports Fierceness is penciled in to start his 3-year-old campaign in the Grade III Holy Bull Stakes Feb. 3 at Gulfstream Park.

Juvenile Fillies

At Remington Park in Oklahoma, Miss Code West kicked away from seven rivals to win Friday's $75,000 Trapeze Stakes by 6 3/4 lengths over the even-money favorite, Tx Women for Arts. The Code West filly ran 1 mile on a muddy track in 1:39.13.

At Aqueduct, My Shea D Lady came from mid-pack to capture the $100,000 Fifth Avenue Division of the New York Stallion Stakes by 2 1/2 lengths. The Solomini filly finished fourth in each of her last two starts.

Around the world, around the clock

Japan

Jockey Yuga Kawada sent Jantar Mantar to the lead a bit earlier than he'd planned in Sunday's Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity at Hanshin Racecourse, but the Palace Malice colt turned that into a good thing with a 1 1/4-length victory that kept his record perfect after three starts.

The race is one of two big year-end Grade 1 events for 2-year-olds, to be followed Dec. 18 by the Hopeful Stakes over the same course. Between them, the races will set the scene for the 2024 Japanese Classics and, perhaps, for further raids on big international purses.

Jantar Mantar got a smooth trip in the Futurity, sitting inside rivals in midfield until the turn. At that point, Kawada saw daylight ahead and figured he'd better take it before the opening slammed shut. As a result, his colt was out in front with some 300 meters to go and rivals revving up behind him.

"I urged him to go a bit earlier than planned as it didn't seem like we were going to get a clear path," Kawada said.

It all worked out as Jantar Mantar held off challenges by two other previously undefeated youngsters -- Ecoro Walz and a filly, Tagano Elpida.

Earlier in the week, Darly in Japan announced it has acquired Palace Malice to stand in Japan starting with the spring season, so the victory was a massive shot in the arm for that division of Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum's worldwide racing empire.

Argentina

Saturday's Group 1 Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini Internacional at Hipodromo de San Isidro, the first Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" of the 2023-24 season, produced an upset as 3-year-old El Encinal split rivals in deep stretch to win by a head at 14-1 odds.

El Encinal, a son of Il Campione and grandson of Scat Daddy, was defeated in his first five starts, but now has won three of his last four. After a maiden win in August, he captured the Group 3 Ensayo in September, and then finished sixth in the Group 1 Jockey Club Oct. 7.

The victory, in a race billed as South America's most prestigious, earned the colt a slot in the starting gate for the $4 million Longines Breeders' Cup Turf in November at Del Mar. Neither El Encinal nor his Chilean-bred sire is nominated to the Breeders' Cup program.