This past weekend’s action on the Kentucky Derby trail saw — briefly — a star born, while runners conditioned by a pair of training titans slugged it out in New Mexico.

Let’s start in New Mexico:

Getaway Car by a nose

Getaway Car, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Juan Hernandez, narrowly defeated Caldera in a thrilling finish to the 20th running of the $400,000 Sunland Derby on Sunday at Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino. A crowd of 14,195 witnessed the tight battle, with Getaway Car prevailing by a nose to secure 20 qualifying points toward the May 3 Kentucky Derby.

Making his first start as a 3-year-old, Getaway Car dictated the pace early, leading through a 46.93-second half-mile while fending off challenges from Smash It and Itsmybirthday. Caldera, ridden by Rafael Bejarano for Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas, surged around the far turn to briefly take the lead, but Getaway Car fought back on the inside, reclaiming the advantage in the final strides. He stopped the clock at 1:42.64 for the 1 1/16-mile race.

The victory marks Baffert’s fourth Sunland Derby win, adding to his previous victories with Chitu (2014), Govenor Charlie (2013), and Wanna Runner (2006). Baffert, a six-time Kentucky Derby winner and two-time Triple Crown champion, will return to Churchill Downs this year following a three-year Derby ban.

Owned by SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Dianne Bashor, Determined Stables, Robert Masterson, Tom Ryan, Waves Edge Capital LLC, and Catherine Donovan, Getaway Car now boasts three wins from seven career starts and a bankroll exceeding $585,000. His past performances include victories in the Grade 2 Best Pal Stakes and runner-up finishes in both the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes and Grade 2 Los Alamitos Futurity.

Sent off as the 6-5 favorite, Getaway Car returned $4.40 to bettors. Caldera finished second, an impressive nine lengths ahead of the rest of the field, with Touchy rounding out the trifecta under Joel Rosario. Take Charge Tom and Orlando Mojica finished fourth.

For Lukas, a four-time Kentucky Derby winner and last year’s Preakness Stakes-winning trainer with Seize the Grey, Caldera’s strong showing positions him as a contender for the Derby trail. He is one of a bevy of horses with 10 points, which at the moment is the cut line.

With 36 total Derby points, Getaway Car has secured a prime position for the Kentucky Derby starting gate. With Magnitude’s scratch from the Derby trail, Baffert’s duo of Citizen Bull and Getaway Car are one-two on the Derby points list.

Magnitude romps in Risen Star, but now off the trail

Magnitude, a 43-1 outsider, blew away the field in the Grade 2, $500,000 Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds Saturday, going right to the front, setting a sharp pace, and drawing away to win by nearly 10 lengths.

With the win, the Steve Asmussen trainee owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds zoomed to second in Derby points with 55. But the joy was short-lived; by Tuesday morning, the Daily Racing Form was reporting that Magnitude would miss the Triple Crown with an ankle chip.

With the dominant Risen Star winner now off the trail, and the top two finishers both 43-1 — the one-dollar exacta returned over $1,300 — the race now appears likely to be chiefly memorable for the no-show performance of 4-5 favorite East Avenue, who stalked the pace for three quarters but threw in the towel readily and finished in a dead heat for 10th.

“I felt like a winner every step until we got to the far turn, he switched leads and just kind of emptied out on me,” said East Avenue’s jockey, Tyler Gaffalione. “I don’t have an answer for it. Hopefully he comes back good and we’ll see what happens.”