World Beater repels Europeans in Saratoga Derby

World Beater might sport an audacious name, but the Pin Oak Stud colorbearer lived up to it by toppling an international cast in Saturday’s $750,000 Saratoga Derby (G1). In so doing, the 11.20-1 shot became the first graded stakes winner trained by Riley Mott.

Both horse and trainer did their fathers proud. World Beater is by four-time Grade 1 star Oscar Performance, whose career predates the Saratoga Derby. Riley Mott is the son of Hall of Fame horseman Bill Mott, who has yet to win this race.

“He just said congrats and well done,” Riley said of father Bill’s reaction. “I grew up here. This is my childhood at Saratoga, this is my playground. The amount of times we've walked down here to the winner's circle together, my Dad and I, I couldn't count them all, so this was really special to have him and my extended family here.”

Jockey Junior Alvarado could be considered part of that extended family, and he had the good fortune to pick up the mount at the last minute. The colt’s regular rider, Jaime Torres, was mired by weather-related travel problems in Atlanta.

World Beater was coming off a fine second in the July 4 Belmont Derby (G1), held this year over Saratoga’s Mellon turf during Belmont Park’s redevelopment. His 1 1/4-length loss to Test Score was better than it looked on paper, given his wide trip, and his progressive profile implied that he could do better with a more advantageous set-up.

Still, World Beater not only had to turn the tables on Test Score here. He also had to deal with a trio of European invaders, led by 2-1 favorite Hotazhell from the yard of Jessica Harrington in Ireland. 

The most dangerous of the internationals ended up being Juwelier, who nearly pulled off a wire-to-wire upset as the 28-1 longest shot on the board. Based in France with Alessandro Botti, he was hustled to the front by Umberto Rispoli after a tepid start. 

Juwelier rolled past Irish shipper Tiberius Thunder to go clear through an opening quarter in :23.92 on the firm course. Then he tore off in isolation. Six lengths up passing the half-mile mark in :47.67, Juwelier continued to gallop with gusto in splits of 1:11.03 and 1:34.95. Although the field began to close the gap, Juwelier was not stopping. 

World Beater saved ground before angling out for his rally, while Test Score charted a slightly wider path, with New Century and Final Gambit even further out. That might have been the difference, as World Beater was able to outfinish them all.

Surging in time, World Beater denied Juwelier by a half-length, with Test Score another head away in third. The winner clocked 1 3/16 miles in 1:52.82 and returned $24.40.

“Beautiful trip from the nine (post),” Alvarado said. “I got to save some ground coming into the first turn and completely cut the corner in the second turn. When I asked my horse for his best, he split horses, and he was unbelievable today.”

Alvarado spared a thought for the unlucky Torres.

“You don’t want to do it that way, but I’m glad I picked it up,” Alvarado said. “The Mott connection, I had to do it. But I do feel terrible for Jaime – there wasn’t nothing he could actually do, things just happen, and I do feel terrible for him.

“I think it was meant to be, I guess,” he added regarding his role in Riley Mott’s new career high. “I have been looking for him to get his first Grade 1 because it's Bill’s son. I have been working with him for years. So, like I said, it was meant to be, I guess.”

“It was a great trip,” Riley said. “You are always worried about being a little wide on the turf, but the horse just needs a clear run, and Junior wound up finding a hole turning for home, and I mean the horse is really game. He was kind of headed on the outside and really dug in well, so that's all she wrote.”

Rispoli, who had a forgettable experience aboard favored Johannes in the preceding Fourstardave (G1), was thrilled with Juwelier.

“I think he ran awesome,” Rispoli said of the near-miss second. “He has a tendency to be a runoff horse. He can seriously do that, like last time at Baden-Baden (when he just held on in the May 31 Derby-Trial [G3]), but Adrie de Vries is a great rider, and he tried to handle it as much as he could last time. He still got it. 

“I think if this race were a mile and an eighth, I probably would have stolen it. It was an amazing effort. Before the race, he was a longshot, so when the horse runs like that, I’m really proud of the effort. He’s a nice horse.” 

Hotazhell, who lagged near the back early, encountered traffic in the upper stretch and finished well in fourth. Next came Final Gambit, New Century, Capitol Hill, Tiberius Thunder, and Tiztastic, who had to check in a troubled passage. 

Hotazhell’s connections were hoping for a better result.

“He ran a good race, but unfortunately got a bit of a check at the top of the straight,” Harrington said. “I’m not saying he would have won, but he would have been a lot closer.” 

Stable jockey Shane Foley felt that Hotazhell would have preferred some ease in the ground.

“He stepped a bit slow, so we ended up a bit further back than ideal. We followed the Qatar horse (New Century) around, and he never traveled with real enthusiasm like he usually does – maybe the ground is a bit quick for him. Maybe he would have been OK on yesterday’s ground, but just a bit too quick for him today.”

Conditions were ideal for World Beater, whose scorecard stands at 8-3-2-1, $826,414. Never off the board since switching to turf, the chestnut graduated at Churchill Downs and promptly captured his stakes debut in the May 31 Audubon S. The Belmont Derby marked his first graded attempt. Note that the colt he edged for second that day, Luther, came back to take Friday’s National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (G2) via a controversial disqualification. 

The Saratoga Derby offers an automatic entry in the Oct. 25 Cox Plate (G1), Australia’s prestigious weight-for-age championship, but it’s unclear whether World Beater would be inclined to take his game that far afield.

“That is a long ways away,” Mott said, “but we'd never say never, I guess.”

Bred by Dr. John A. Chandler in Kentucky, World Beater sold for $105,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. His dam, the Blame mare Dabinett, is a three-quarter sister to Group 2-winning highweight Pomology and a half to a trio of stakes performers, notably multiple Grade 1-placed Sassy Little Lila. Pomology is herself responsible for the Group 3 scorer Goldspur. 

Blame turned an unusual Grade 1 double at the Spa as a broodmare sire. One race after the Saratoga Derby, his granddaughter Kilwin rallied furiously to prevail in the seven-furlong Test (G1).