ARCADIA, Calif. - The rally-wide strategy that jockey Juan Hernandez hoped to utilize aboard Pilot Commander in Saturday’s Grade 3 San Carlos Stakes at Santa Anita was abandoned less than three furlongs from the finish of the seven-furlong race. Hernandez had Pilot Commander on the inside on the backstretch and turn, and a rail trip in early stretch developed into the best option. Despite encountering a touch of traffic, Pilot Commander responded to win the $100,000 San Carlos by three-quarters of a length. Hernandez changed tactics when 7-1 Vlahos drifted off the inside approaching the stretch. “I was confident in my horse,” Hernandez said. “I was waiting. He likes to run in the clear. I was thinking on the backstretch to wait for the quarter-pole and go around them. “The horse was getting out and I saw that. I sent him through. It was a little tight, but he won the race.” A heavy favorite, Pilot Commander ($2.80) was timed in 1:23.98 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 95. Hernandez is the overall leading rider at the current Santa Anita winter-spring meeting. The San Carlos was his seventh stakes win, one behind Flavien Prat in stakes wins. :: Santa Anita Clocker Reports are available every race day. Access now. The San Carlos was the first stakes win for Pilot Commander in his third appearance in such a race, all at seven furlongs. Pilot Commander was second in the Grade 2 San Vicente Stakes for 3-year-olds in January 2024, and fourth in the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes for 3-year-olds last December. For All Mankind (7-1) closed from fourth with a wide move to finish second, edging Spirit of Makena by a half-length. Fort Bragg and Vlahos completed the order of finish in a field of five. Vlahos set an early pace of 22.30 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 45.34 for a half-mile. For All Mankind was second in the Grade 3 Palos Verdes Stakes at six furlongs on Feb. 15 in his first stakes start of the year. Spirit of Makena returned from an 18-month layoff on Saturday. He won the 2023 San Carlos, but had been sidelined twice since fall 2023 by troubled feet. Spirit of Makena raced near the front in Saturday’s race before fading from contention in the final strides. “For an 18-month layoff, it was fantastic,” jockey Kyle Frey said. Pilot Commander, a 4-year-old colt by Justify, has won 4 of 7 starts and earned $240,600. He is unbeaten in two starts this year for CSLR Racing Partners and trainer Bob Baffert, beginning with an easy win at 1-5 in an allowance race at six furlongs on Feb. 1. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.