A smashing debut by Nadal in the seventh race Sunday at Santa Anita was a long time coming. Nadal earned a 98 Beyer after he scorched six and one-half furlongs in 1:15.82 to emerge as a potential 3-year-old star for Bob Baffert.

It should have happened last summer as a 2-year-old, when Nadal was up to a half-mile in workouts and impressing clockers and his trainer.

“I was pretty high on that horse, he was one of my early 2-year-olds,” Baffert said. But a quiet crosstown ship nearly became a disaster when Nadal got his left hind leg caught on a divider inside the horse trailer.

 “He started kicking, and must have kicked so hard he got his left hind leg over the divider,” Baffert said. “I thought he might have broken something.”

The setback turned out to be relatively minor, but Nadal needed time. While 2-year-old stablemates Eight Rings, Thousand Words and Bast became Grade 1 winners, Nadal stayed unraced.

Impressive recent works supported the idea Nadal had much potential, and his debut erased any doubt. Nadal broke a half-step slow from the rail, zoomed inside to duel through fast fractions of :21.88 and :44.91, and kicked away by three and three-quarter lengths over highly regarded Exaulted. The runner-up earned a 90 Beyer finishing a half-length in front of Lane Way. Nadal, by Blame, was purchased for $700,000 at a 2-year-old sale last year and figures to be a major player this spring.

# Baffert unveils another hotshot 3-year-old first-time starter on Monday at Santa Anita. Merneith, an American Pharoah filly that also has trained like she is special, is the program favorite racing six and one-half furlongs from the rail in race 1.