Brigand, who was a sales-topper at the 2011 OBS Select 2-year-old sale, shipped from his California base to take the $104,000 City of Laurel S. Saturday at the Maryland track.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Brigand was purchased for $925,000 at OBS by the Hall of Fame conditioner, as agent, from the Eisaman consignment. Interestingly, the City of Laurel marked the first time in his career that Baffert had sent a runner to Laurel Park.

Brigand made it worth his while with a front-running, one length victory, covering the seven-furlong distance in 1 minute, 23.08 seconds. A New York-bred son of Flatter, Brigand previously placed in the Hollywood Juvenile Championship (G3), the Jerome (G2) and the Mike Lee S. With the victory, he  boosting his career earnings to $288,820 and his overall record to 4-5-0 in 12 starts.

"Bob chose this spot," said owner Kaleem Shah, who lives in nearby Vienna, Va. "He told me this was a good spot. He thought he would win and that was good enough for me."