Bob Baffert made all the right moves to ensure Midnight Interlude returned to winning form at Hollywood Park on Friday night.

Midnight Interlude (3c War Chant – Midnight Kiss by Groom Dancer) had failed in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes so Baffert upped stakes and took him back home to California.

The Hall Of Fame trainer also switched the colt to turf and removed the blinkers for a make-or-break return in the LR Tsunami Slew Stakes.

Midnight Interlude is by incoming Yarradale Stud shuttler War Chant and is a homebred for leading owners Arnold and Ellen Zetcher.  He had won the G1 Santa Anita Derby at just his fourth start before a frustrating campaign in the classics.

“The Zetchers flew all the way from Boston just for this race,” Baffert said.  “It’s so important to have clientele like them and I’m glad it worked out.

“Midnight Interlude loves the turf.  He worked terrific at Santa Anita.  I think it was just the deeper, sandier tracks he was having trouble with.  I was really disappointed because he had trained so well for the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

“We rushed him right into the Santa Anita Derby but now we can sit back and start teaching him how to finish up like he did tonight.’’

Midnight Interlude won the Tsunami Slew Stakes after shadowing front-runner Moment of Weakness.  He reached the lead at the furlong and then edged out Surrey Star who went into the race with an unbeaten record in three starts.

The War Chant colt has now won three of his seven starts and Friday night’s purse increased his earnings to $692,910.

War Chant (Danzig) will shuttle from Three Chimneys Farm to Yarradale this year.  He will stand for a $22,000 (inc gst) fee.

The Zetchers have a 2yo full brother and yearling sister to Midnight Interlude.  Their NZ bred dam Midnight Kiss won races at Arawa Park and Tauranga and also finished third in the 2004 New Zealand Oaks before shipping to the States.