ARCADIA — In a rarity, Bob Baffert was not in the spotlight before a Grade I stakes at Santa Anita on Saturday. His horses went off at 8-1 and 14-1, and the trainer scratched another who was 6-1 on the morning line. His No. 1 jockey, Juan Hernandez, chose someone else’s horse in the Goodwood Stakes.

“It’s nice to go under the radar,” Baffert said.

He was speaking in, wouldn’t you know it, the winner’s circle.

The combination of the emerging talent of 3-year-old Nevada Beach and a heady ride by 59-year-old Mike Smith gave Baffert his ninth victory in the $300,000 Goodwood, and maybe his least likely.

The win in the 1⅛-mile race, by 1½ lengths over heavy favorite Full Serrano and 4¾ over Baffert-trained Privman, gave Nevada Beach backers a $19 payoff.

And it gave Baffert new hope for th

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