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Jerkens victorious on the War Front Joseph Allen's WAR FRONT (Danzig) accelerated to the front after stalking the early pace to capture the $208,200 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Breeders' Cup H. (G2) at Saratoga on Saturday. The Allen Jerkens-trained four-year-old didn't wait long to take the lead, trailing a close third behind Afrashad (Smoke Glacken) and Bishop Court Hill (Holy Bull) through a quarter-mile in :21 4/5 before charging to the front on the turn, completing a half-mile in :45. War Front had taken a three-length advantage at the five-furlong mark in :57 1/5 and managed to seal his first graded victory by 2 1/2 lengths, completing the six-furlong affair in 1:10 1/5 over the fast track. "Turning for home, I asked my horse for run and he really kicked in," jockey Jose Santos said. "He finished well." Sent off as the 8-5 favorite, War Front returned $5.50, $3.20 and $2.50 while leading exotics of $26.80 (exacta) and $71 (5-1-2 trifecta). Judith's Wild Rush (Wild Rush) angled out five wide at the quarter-pole and closed to garner second, giving back $4.40 and $2.80 at 5-1. Mass Media (Touch Gold) sat in tight quarters through opening fractions, veered six wide entering the stretch and made a belated rally for the show at 3-1 to pay $3. Afrashad was 4 3/4 lengths farther back and was followed by Bishop Court Hill and Thunder Touch (Gulch). "The fact that the track wasn't lightning fast helped him," Jerkens commented. "Hopefully, he'll be sound enough for the Forego ([G1] on September 2 at Saratoga). He won't need much work for that, but it's going to be a tougher field. That's the next plan, if everything goes OK." Bred in Kentucky by his owner, War Front is out of the multiple stakes-winning and Grade 1-placed mare Starry Dreamer (Rubiano) and is a half-brother to Bonnie Miss S. (G2) heroine Teammate (A.P. Indy) and Grade 3 winner Ecclesiastic (Pulpit). Starry Dreamer's latest foal is a 2006 colt named Factum (Giant's Causeway). War Front finished a close second in his previous outing, the Tom Fool H. (G2), to multiple Grade 1 winner Silver Train (Old Trieste), and ran second in his first two starts of the year, the Deputy Minister H. (G3) and Mr. Prospector H. (G3). His victory in the Vanderbilt improves his career line to 10-4-3-1 and nearly doubled his earnings to $294,205 with the $124,920 winner's share.
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