Bob Baffert will take four shots at champion Shared Belief in the $300,000 Malibu Stakes, the featured event when Santa Anita Park kicks off its winter/spring meet on Boxing Day.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer's Shared Belief tasted defeat for the first time in the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic on November 1 at Santa Anita and will be cutting back drastically in distance for Friday's Malibu.

He heads a strong field of 10 sophomores in the seven furlong test, one of three graded stakes for 3-year-olds on the opening day card.

Baffert outnumbers last year's 2-year-old male champion with a formidable quartet consisting of Chitu, Indianapolis, Pimpernel, and Midnight Hawk.

Shared Belief finished fourth as the favorite in the Classic after being victimized by a rough start.

He will try to reinsert himself into Eclipse Award consideration for top 3-year-old and Horse of the Year honors after smashing G1 wins earlier this season in the Pacific Classic and Awesome Again Stakes.

Shared Belief has worked five times at Golden Gate Fields over the Tapeta surface in preparation for the Malibu. Undefeated in seven starts prior to the Classic, his lone start at seven furlongs resulted in a rousing 7 3/4-length win in the Hollywood Preview Stakes in 2013.

The dark bay gelding will break from post 8 with regular pilot Mike Smith. With seven wins from eight starts, Shared Belief has earnings of $1,852,200, by far the most in the Malibu field.

Hollendorfer, who is yet to win the Malibu during his Hall of Fame career, also entered Tamarando, who won the G1 Del Mar Futurity at seven furlongs in 2013.

Baffert, who has won two out of the past three Malibu runnings, holds a potent four-card hand, but Chitu appears to be the Hall of Fame conditioner's ace.

The chestnut colt by Henny Hughes comes off an authoritative 2 1/2-length win in the seven furlong Damascus Stakes at Santa Anita on October 31, his only start since finishing ninth in the Kentucky Derby.

He was an easy winner of the G3 Sunland Derby three starts back and he'll again get the services of Joel Rosario, who was aboard for the Damascus score.

Midnight Hawk won the G3 Sham Stakes last January then reeled off graded stakes placings in the G2 Robert B. Lewis, G2 San Felipe, Sunland Derby and G3 Illinois Derby before going to the sidelines for 6 1/2 months.

He was a disappointing third as the favorite in a second condition allowance going six furlongs at Del Mar on November 30 and will race without blinkers in the Malibu.

After three wins to begin his career Indianapolis took a giant step up in the G1 Breeders' Cup Sprint but never factored after a bad start and finished 10th.

Pimpernel jumps up in class off a front-running win over an allowance/optional claiming field at Santa Anita. He appears to be the wild card in his graded stakes debut for Baffert after defeating highly regarded stablemate Hoppertunity in that race by a half length.