Son posts Royal upset in Battaglia; The Great War bled in last
Son posts Royal upset in Battaglia; The Great War bled in
last
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The Great War (War Front) went off as the 1-5 favorite in Saturday's $116,450 Battaglia Memorial S. after romping in the January 31 96Rock S., but the second leg of Turfway Park's three-year-old series turned out very differently. Beaten to the early lead by WinStar Farm's homebred Royal Son (Tiznow), The Great War retreated to last and was found to have bled. Royal Son spurted clear entering the stretch and held sway by 5 1/4 lengths for the 9-1 upset. Sporting first-time blinkers for trainer Todd Pletcher, Royal Son was also crossing the wire in front for the first time. The well-bred colt had broken his maiden via the disqualification of Tradesman (Street Sense) at Gulfstream Park January 8. He made his stakes debut in the January 31 Sam F. Davis (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs, where he never factored in seventh, but the equipment change woke him up here. The Great War, who had flashed effortless speed in the 6 1/2-furlong 96Rock, tried to gun it early from post 11 in the 1 1/16-mile Battaglia. The odds-on choice couldn't quite cut across the whole field, however, for Royal Son stood his ground from his inside post 3 and held the lead into the first turn. After an opening quarter in :24 4/5 on the Polytrack, Royal Son received more pressure from The Great War through a half in :49 2/5. Although they still matched strides at the six-furlong mark in 1:13 3/5, Royal Son was going easily, while The Great War was already under a ride. The race was essentially over rounding the far turn, as The Great War could not keep up, and Royal Son began to open up. He negotiated 1 1/16 miles in 1:46 4/5 and rewarded his loyalists with a $20.60 win mutuel.
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Pepper Roani (Broken Vow), a recent maiden winner over the track, closed for
best of the rest by 12 3/4 lengths. Milwaukee Mist (Milwaukee Brew) checked in
third. Firespike (Flower Alley), the 6-1 second choice, wound up fifth.
The Great War was treated considerately by jockey Albin Jimenez, who took
care of him as he faded through the field. He was the last of 10 to finish, and
the reason was soon forthcoming: according to the chart, he bled. His poor loss
has ramifications for Pool 3 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager, which opened
Friday and runs through Sunday. As of 10 p.m. (EST) Saturday, a little more than
an hour after the race, The Great War's odds were 52-1.
Royal Son improved his record to 5-2-2-0, $133,825. The bay had finished
second in a pair of Saratoga maidens last summer, yielding by a length to Pride
of Stride (Candy Ride) on August 2, and no match for El Kabeir (Scat Daddy) on
August 30. He was not seen again until his promoted maiden score at Gulfstream.
The Battaglia was not a points race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby scoring
system. But with this victory, Royal Son stamps himself as a prime contender for
the March 21 Spiral (G3) back at Turfway, a race worth 50 Derby points to the
winner.
The Kentucky-bred is out of stakes winner Mama Nadine (A.P. Indy), who is
herself a daughter of 1997 champion two-year-old filly Countess Diana
(Deerhound). This is the further family of ill-fated multiple Grade 1 heroine
Exogenous (Unbridled), multiple Japanese Grade 2 veteran Win Variation (Heart's
Cry), and Hall of Famer Curlin (Smart Strike).
Royal Son's pedigree sports 4x3 inbreeding to 1977 Triple Crown legend
Seattle Slew, and his dam, Mama Nadine, is inbred 3x3 to noted matron Lassie
Dear (Buckpasser).
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