In Santa Anita's second race on March 5, 2022, fans saw a debut winner easily dispatch his rivals by a huge margin.

What they did not know at the time was that this same horse would conclude 2022 as the state's top three-year-old colt.

Having a multiple Grade I winner in Gun Runner for a sire and black-type stakes winner in Needmore Flattery as a dam, it was reasonable to believe that Taiba could pick up victories in at least some of racing's higher levels. That turned out to be true, and two of them combined for an unprecedented double never before achieved at Santa Anita.

Following his excellent first outing, Taiba made a huge leap to the Grade I ranks, namely the Santa Anita Derby. Squaring off against winners for the first time is not an easy task, but to do so in Grade I company is a tremendous assignment. What's more, Taiba was being asked to run a mile and one-eighth after winning at six furlongs. To accomplish all of this meant scoring a berth in the Kentucky Derby.

Sent off as the third choice behind graded stakes winners Forbidden Kingdom and Messier, Taiba and jockey Mike Smith settled in a good position on the outside while Forbidden Kingdom set the early pace with Messier close behing. As he followed his two principal opponents around Santa Anita's main oval, Taiba stayed within striking distance of the pair before making his move on the far turn. Up ahead, Messier took over first from Forbidden Kingdom just before reaching the quarter pole. As Messier turned for home, Taiba found himself in second place. Both horses were game, but Taiba showed more tenacity in the stretch.

Finding another gear right before embarking on the final sixteenth of a mile, Taiba overtook Messier to win the Santa Anita Derby going away. Now part of the local contingent that would go on to the Kentucky Derby, Taiba had truly orchastrated something remarkable as he went from debut winner to Grade I champion in little more than a month. That included navigating a pair of completely different distances, and being able to handle those made Taiba a horse to watch as 2022 continued.

After a twelfth place finish in the Kentucky Derby, Taiba went on to have a fantastic summer and fall, finishing second in the Grade I Haskell before winning the Grade II Pennsylvania Derby and then taking third in the Grade I Breeders' Cup Classic. Overall, the chestnut Kentucky-bred produced a fine first year at the races after competing in the spring, summer and fall. But the early days of winter would supply Taiba with one of the

Entered in the Malibu Stakes, long the feature for Santa Anita's Opening Day and the final Grade I of the year, Taiba was tasked with a return to sprinting. He also found himself in a rematch of the Santa Anita Derby, for both Forbidden Kingdom and Messier were back to battle him again. The public sided with Taiba this time, making him the 2-5 favorite when betting wrapped up.

The Malibu was like taking a trip back in time to the spring. Forbidden Kingdom set the tempo from the rail while Taiba and Mike Smith again pursued him on the outside. Staying near the pacesetter down the Santa Anita backstretch, Taiba moved closer in the far turn. By the time they straigtened into the stretch, Taiba was once again ahead of Forbidden Kingdom. Shaking off fellow rival Straight No Chaser, Taiba finished off the Malibu by finding more at the sixteenth pole like he did in the Santa Anita Derby. Firmly in front by multiple lengths at the wire, Taiba scored his third Grade I victory of the year. But more than a trophy now belonged to him.

Winning either the Santa Anita Derby or Malibu Stakes is a true honor. The Santa Anita Derby has been around since 1935, while the Malibu's existence goes back to 1952. That of course means dozens of Thoroughbreds have experienced the moment of being champion of either event, but only one of them had actually taken first place in both contests. The owner of that distinction is Determine, the 1954 Kentucky Derby winner who won the Santa Anita Derby that same year but captured the Malibu in 1955. Going into 2022, no horse had ever swept the Santa Anita Derby and Malibu Stakes in the same year.

That is, until Taiba came along.

In over nine months, Taiba went from debut winner to Grade I winner to owner of a new piece of Santa Anita history. Everyone in Southern California would love to be winner of the Santa Anita Derby and Malibu, both longtime staples of the region's racing calendar. And it is hard to believe no one had ever won both races in the same season. When one thinks about it, that is an unusual but prestigious double. Both are Grade I events, and you have to sprint in one and route in the other. And the history that has been produced from either race is simply astounding.

And more astounding history connected to that pair of Grade I event was added on December 26, 2022. Taiba's debut win was a foreshadowing of what was to come from this talented horse. Make no mistake, it was no fluke after the record he put together at three.

But when he beat his foes in the Malibu, Taiba went from debut winner to Grade I winner to being a part of California racing history. And sweeping the Santa Anita Derby and Malibu can be called symbolic of Taiba's special talent.