Bottle of Rouge a Family Affair for Bafferts 

The owner of the Bottle of Rouge, a bona fide contender for the NetJets Juvenile Fillies (G1), never has a beef with the trainer. The owner never questions the training regimen of the daughter of Vino Rosso. Nope, everything trainer Bob Baffert does with Bottle of Rouge is a-ok with the owner. That's because the owner is Jill Baffert, also the wife of the Hall of Famer. "I can't believe I own that one," Jill Baffert said. "I have had some real nice horses but never a young horse with all the hopes and dreams that come with that and the potential that may or may not come to fruition." This is indeed not Jill Baffert's first rodeo as an owner. According to Equibase, she has had 267 starters with 67 winners. Most of them have been trained by her husband. She said she has about 10 horses in training right now. Bottle of Rouge is her second Grade 1 winner. In her most recent start, she won the Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 6, earning her the right to get to racing's big show. In 2012, she owned Contested, the champion of the 2012 Test Stakes at Saratoga. A daughter of Vino Rosso, the name Bottle of Rouge comes from a lyric of the song Grape Juice by Harry Styles. Jill Baffert is a big fan of Harry Styles. "We always try to buy a filly for her every year," Bob Baffert said. "Some of them work out, some don't." Bottle of Rouge, a striking gray, broke her maiden in her second try and then jumped straight into the Grade 1 Debutante Bottle of Rouge is the 9-2 co-third choice in the Juvenile Fillies. The favorite in the race is another Bob Baffert horse, Explora, who is 5-2 on the morning line. The last time the two Baffert fillies met, it was Bottle of Rouge pulling off the upset at 9-1 in the Debutante. Explora was the 2-5 favorite. Bob Baffert was in Kentucky when the Debutante was run. As he watched the race, he felt pretty good for his wife, who he thought was going to run second to the big favorite, who is owned by Mike Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman. "When I saw them coming down the lane, I was watching Explora and then I was thinking, 'oh, good, Jill's filly is going to run second, she was going to have a stakes place in a Grade 1," Bob Baffert said. "Then, all of a sudden, Explora started coming up short and she catches her. It was sort of an awkward moment, but I was really happy for her because you could tell how much she appreciated the win. "We are all friends," Baffert said of his owners. "Jill felt bad that she won but they (Explora's owners) were happy for Jill. I know how exciting it was for her." Jill Baffert might very well be the den mother of the Baffert barn. All the horses know her voice when she hits the shedrow, and they all know she usually has a boatload of carrots for them. "She loves them, and they love her," Bob Baffert said. "When they hear her voice, they go crazy. They all stick their heads out. It's fun to watch her. It's fun for her to have a horse in (the Breeders' Cup)." One thing that never happens from this owner is second guessing her trainer. Jill Baffert never does that; why would she have to? "I don't know who else I would want training my horses," Jill Baffert said. "In my opinion, Bob is the best trainer. It feels good to know that she will be ready to run."