ARCADIA — Intrepido’s race could have been over a few times Saturday. Instead, it just may be the start of a championship run.

Forced to steady in the first turn, stuck behind the leaders on the far turn and boxed in entering the stretch, Intrepido and jockey Hector Berrios found running room in time to burst past two tiring horses and win at 8-1 odds in the American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita.

The win in the $300,000, Grade I race earned Intrepido free entry in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the race that annually crowns 2-year-old champions and early Kentucky Derby favorites.

“He got out in the clear, and man, what a run,” trainer Jeff Mullins said after posing in the winner’s circle with owners Ruben Islas and Michele Arthur.

The win was the second in three starts for Intrepido, a r

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