West Coast

Background

West Coast was bred in Kentucky by Carl Pollard's CFP Thoroughbreds LLC and was foaled and raised at Hermitage Farm. His sire was Flatter, who won four of six starts but finished third in his only stakes appearance. As a well bred son of leading sire A.P. Indy and notable broodmare Praise, Flatter was given a chance at stud by his owners, Claiborne Farm, and developed into a solid sire. West Coast's dam Caressing was the champion two-year-old filly of 2000.

West Coast was sold by Hermitage Farm at the Keeneland September 2015 Yearling Sale to agent Ben Glass for Gary and Mary West. The Wests were not normally interested in late foals and West Coast had been foaled on May 14, after their normal cut-off date. "But I just loved this colt," said Glass. "He was so charismatic and carried himself so well. He had such a fluid walk he would slink along like a panther. He had good size and a great big overstep on him." Glass set a price limit of $350,000 for the colt but eventually went to $425,000.

West Coast was trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert.

Racing career

2017: three-year-old season

West Coast did not race at age two because Baffert felt the colt needed more time to develop. He made his racing debut as a three-year-old on February 18, 2017, in a maiden special weight race at Santa Anita, where he finished second. He broke his maiden in his second start on March 12, then was stepped up to graded stakes company in the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland in Kentucky on April 16. Drawing post position 10, he raced near the back of the pack during the early running and was carried five wide into the first turn. He started to make up ground while going four wide around the far turn and moved into the lead mid-stretch but was caught in the final strides to lose by a head.

He then returned to Santa Anita, where he won an allowance race on May 20 before being shipped across country to Belmont Park for the Easy Goer Stakes on June 10. After settling near the back of the field for the first half mile, he made a strong move down the stretch to win by 3+3⁄4 lengths. "We thought he'd run well," Baffert said. "We were debating running in the Belmont [Stakes]. He didn't convince us yet, but he's figuring it out. He's really developing the right way."

West Coast returned to California to make his next start in the Los Alamitos Derby on July 15. Going off as the odds-on favorite, he made a "leisurely" run down the backstretch while sitting in fifth place but swept by the early leaders in the stretch to win by 2+3⁄4 lengths. "It was sort of a gamble to sit back there, but it paid off,” said Baffert. "Then when he turned for home I said, 'I think we're OK.' He's a good horse and it's a long stretch. All of a sudden he just took off, getting into stride."

West Coast then traveled to Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York for the prestigious Travers Stakes on August 26. The field for the so-called "Midsummer Derby" featured nine graded stakes winners, including Always Dreaming (Kentucky Derby), Cloud Computing (Preakness Stakes), and Tapwrit (Belmont Stakes). Baffert remained in California, leaving the colt under the care of assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes. Before the race, Baffert texted jockey Mike Smith to ride West Coast like he was Smith's own horse. Given the lack of early speed horses in the race, Smith changed tactics and went to the early lead followed closely by Always Dreaming. "I thought there wasn't much pace, but man, I caught a good jump, put him on the lead, and he just cruised from there,” said Smith.

2018: four-year-old season

West Coast made the first start of his four-year-old campaign on January 27, 2018, in the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park. He rated in fourth place behind the early pace set by Collected and Gun Runner, then made his move on the final turn. However, he could not keep pace with Gun Runner and finished second, though well clear of the rest of the field. "Turning for home I thought Gun Runner might be a little empty, but his tank is so big and he just kept going," said Baffert. "I can't really complain. We just got beat by a really good horse. He was tested the whole way around there. It was a good horse race. I just came up a little short."

West Coast next shipped to Meydan Racecourse for the Dubai World Cup, held on March 31. He dueled for the early lead with Thunder Snow but started to lose contact around the final turn and finished 5+3⁄4 lengths behind in second.

After returning to America, West Coast was turned out for several weeks before resuming training in the summer. He returned to racing on September 29 in the Awesome Again Stakes where he again finished second, this time to Accelerate. "He really ran a huge race," said new jockey Mike Smith. "I really couldn't ask for more out of him. He really needed that push, and we forced him to move forward a little more, but I think that he did it well, and it was good for him."

West Coast made his final start in the 2018 Breeders' Cup Classic on November 3 at Churchill Downs. He vied for the early lead but tired and finished seventh.

Retirement

West Coast entered stud at Lane's End Farm in 2019. His first foals were of racing age in 2022. Following five years at Lane's End, the bay stallion was sold to a farm in Ecuador where he would begin to stand stud in 2025.

Pedigree

West Coast is inbred 4 x 4 to Raise a Native, meaning that stallion appears twice in the fourth generation of his pedigree.