SATURDAY, APRIL 22, 2017 STANFORD LOOKS FOR BATTLE OF MIDWAY PURCHASED PRIVATELY BY DON ALBERTO & WINSTAR CLASSIC REPEAT Don Alberto Stable and WinStar Farm have partnered to privately purchase GI Santa Anita Derby runner-up and >TDN Rising Star= Battle of Midway (Smart Strike) from Rick Porter=s Fox Hill Farm. The $410,000 FTSAUG yearling will continue to be trained by Hall of Famer Jerry Hollendorfer as he prepares for the GI Kentucky Derby. AWe are excited to join with WinStar on such an exciting racing prospect,@ said Fernando Diaz-Valdes of Don Alberto Stable. ABattle of Midway has shown tremendous potential, and we feel he is an excellent prospect for the Kentucky Derby and beyond. We have the utmost respect for Mr. Porter and the job he and his team have done in developing Battle of Midway, and we appreciate the opportunity to campaign him going forward.@ Cont. p5 Stanford winning the 2016 Charles Town Classic | Coady Photography IN TDN EUROPE TODAY by Joe Bianca INFLUENTIAL SIRE CAPE CROSS DIES Stonestreet Stables= Stanford (Malibu Moon), a wire-to-wire Champion sire Cape Cross (Ire), who sired the likes of Sea The winner of the Charles Town Classic S. last year, will go for a Stars (Ire) and Ouija Board (GB), has died aged 23 at Kildangan repeat in the $1.25-million feature Saturday, but figures to have Stud. Click or tap here to go straight to TDN Europe. to work much harder on the front end this time around. Allowed to dictate dawdling splits of :24.75, :48.86 and 1:13.75 in his 2016 victory, Stanford was not for catching in the lane, and the bay has added victories in the GIII Harlan=s Holiday S. and Challenger S. since. Rail drawn in this year=s renewal, Stanford will likely have to be forwardly placed, and will likely face early heat from a pair of other frontrunners. Lady Sheila Stable=s Matt King Coal (Cool Coal Man), fourth in the GI Wood Memorial S. in his only previous graded stakes try, comes in off of a pair of pacesetting tallies at Laurel this winter, and projects to be in Stanford=s hip pocket from the jump. The $250,000 OBS April buy sharpened up for this test with a five- furlong breeze in 1:00 1/5 (1/22) Apr. 14 over the Belmont training track. Cautious Giant (Giant=s Causeway) was claimed for $62,500 by Loooch Racing Stables and Imaginary Stables out of a narrow second in a downhill turf sprint Mar. 2 at Santa Anita. The gelding should be on the engine, if nothing else then to try and set the table for his owners= other entrants, Imperative (Bernardini) and War Story (Northern Afleet). Cont. p3 PRESIDENT & CO-PUBLISHER Barry Weisbord @barryweisbord [email protected] SR. V.P. & CO-PUBLISHER Sue Morris Finley @suefinley [email protected] V.P., INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS Gary King @garykingTDN [email protected] Saturday, April 22, 2017 EDITORIAL [email protected] Editor-in-Chief Jessica Martini @JessMartiniTDN Managing Editor Alan Carasso @EquinealTDN Senior Editor Steve Sherack @SteveSherackTDN Racing Editor Brian DiDonato @BDiDonatoTDN Associate Editors Christie DeBernardis @CDeBernardisTDN Ben Massam @BMassamTDN Assistant Editors Heather Anderson @HLAndersonTDN Joe Bianca @JBiancaTDN ADVERTISING [email protected] Director of Advertising Alycia Borer Advertising Manager Lia Best Advertising Designer Amanda Crelin Advertising Assistants Alexa Reisfield Michelle Benson Happy Birthday to Her Majesty the Queen. Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her 91st birthday on Friday with a visit to Newbury Racecourse, Berkshire, England to watch her Photo Editor/Dir. of Distribution Sarah K. Andrew @SarahKAndrew horse, Maths Prize, in a conditions race. | Edward Whitaker/Racing Post [email protected] Social Media Strategist Justina Severni TODAY’S GRADED STAKES EST Race Click for TV Director of Customer Service 8:55a Dubai Duty Free John Porter S.-G3, NBY -------------- ----- Vicki Forbes [email protected] 9:30a Dubai Duty Free Fred Darling S.-G3, NBY -------------- ----- 10:05a JLT Greenham S.-G3, NBY -------------- ----- Director of Information Technology 5:30p Dixiana Elkhorn S.-GII, KEE TJCIS PPs TVG Ray Villa 5:30p San Juan Capistrano S.-GIII, SA TJCIS PPs TVG [email protected] 5:35p Charles Town Classic S.-GII, CT TJCIS PPs TVG WORLDWIDE INFORMATION 7:17p Illinois Derby-GIII, HAW TJCIS PPs TVG International Editor 7:30p Californian S.-GII, SA TJCIS PPs TVG Kelsey Riley @kelseynrileyTDN [email protected] European Editor Emma Berry [email protected] Newmarket Bureau, Cafe Racing Sean Cronin & Tom Frary [email protected] 60 Broad Street, Suite 100 Red Bank, NJ 07701 732-747-8060 | 732-747-8955 (fax) www.TheTDN.com TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 3 OF 10 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • APRIL 22, 2017 Charles Town Classic cont. Imperative pulled off a 26-1 upset in this event three years ago, and was second at 31-1 the following year before running GII CHARLES TOWN CLASSIC S., deceptively well 4yo/up, 1 1/8m when closing into PP Horse Sire K the slow pace to be 1. Stanford Malibu Moon fourth last year. The 2. Sunny Ridge Holy Bull 7-year-old gelding 3. Gangster Street Boss 4. Matt King Coal Cool Coal Man upset Stanford in 5. Imperative K Bernardini the inaugural 6. War Story K Northern Afleet Poseidon H. Jan. 28 7. Bodhisattva Student Council at Gulfstream 8. Cautious Giant K Giant’s Causeway before finishing a (see Graded Stakes Entries) dull eighth in the GI Santa Anita H. last out Mar. 11. War Story dominated the Queen=s County S. with a career-high Beyer of 106 Dec. 17 at Aqueduct, and ran a respectable fifth behind Arrogate (Unbridled=s Song) in the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational before filling the same slot in the GIII Fred Hooper S. last out Mar. 4. Trained by Jorge Navarro, War Story drilled a bullet five panels in 1:00 flat Apr. 15 at Gulfstream West. The improving Sunny Ridge (Holy Bull) is not without a chance. Victor of the GIII Withers S. last winter, the gray went winless in his next five starts before dominating the Jazil S. Jan. 14 at Aqueduct and repeating in that track=s Stymie S. Mar. 12. ILLINOIS DERBY RETURNS FROM ONE-YEAR HIATUS by Ben Massam The GIII Illinois Derby was a relevant prep for the GI Kentucky Derby as recently as a decade ago, yielding 2002 winner War Emblem (Our Emblem), 2006 favorite Sweetnorthernsaint (Sweetsouthernsaint) and 2009 third-place finisher Musket Man (Yonaguska). After disappearing for a one-year hiatus as Hawthorne Race Course solidified its purse funding, the springtime staple returns two weeks before the First Saturday in May as a potential prep for the two final jewels of the Triple Crown. Trainer Ken McPeek successfully brought Senior Investment (Discreetly Mine) back in 14 days to capture last weekend=s GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. and seeks to complete the same move with John Battaglia Memorial S. winner It=s Your Nickel (Dialed In)--most recently sixth in Keeneland=s GII Toyota Blue Grass S. Apr. 8. Cont. p4 TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 4 OF 10 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • APRIL 22, 2017 AYou don't know until you try,@ McPeek said following the Blue Multiplier (The Factor) and morning line favorite Mr. Grass, adding that the race served as a useful barometer for Misunderstood (Archarcharch) also exit races in New Orleans. future plans. AWe were the second-longest shot on the board The former has shown steady improvement in each of his three and the longest shot [Irap (Tiznow)] won it. My horse is a nice starts, culminating in a decisive graduation over an extended horse.@ mile Mar. 18, while the latter carries a three-race win streak It=s Your Nickel=s stiffest competition could come from WinStar after dominating a 1 1/16-mile off-the-turfer by nine lengths Farm, China Horse Club and SF Racing=s Hedge Fund (Super Mar. 25. Saver), who was last seen finishing third behind Hence (Street Boss) after setting a brisk pace in the ILLINOIS DERBY-GIII, 3yo, 1 1/8m Mar. 26 GIII Sunland PP Horse Sire Derby. The Todd 1. Multiplier K The Factor Pletcher trainee 2. Hedge Fund Super Saver ships north after 3. It’s Your Nickel Dialed In posting a pair of 4. Stand and Cheer Warrior’s Reward maintenance half- 5. St. Louie Guy Kantharos mile breezes at Palm 6. Mr. Misunderstood Archarcharch Beach Downs and 7. Hollywood Handsome Tapizar (see Graded Stakes Entries) figures to be on the lead again Saturday. Mark Stanley=s Hollywood Handsome (Tapizar) draws the widest post in a field of seven and will likely assume an off-the-pace position. The Dallas Stewart-conditioned bay rallied from last to check in fourth behind Girvin (Tale of Ekati) in the Apr. 1 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds. It=s Your Nickel | Coady photo TDN HEADLINE NEWS • PAGE 5 OF 10 • THETDN.COM SATURDAY • APRIL 22, 2017 Battle of Midway cont. from p1 Derby after being hounded through fast fractions, and he has a lot of qualities that make him an exciting Kentucky Derby contender. When you think about him being one of the last top colts by Smart Strike--a proven sire of sires, you can=t help but to think about his potential down the road as a stallion.@ Battle of Midway, bred in Kentucky by Thor-Bred Stables LLC, is out of GI Oak Leaf S. heroine Rigoletta (Concerto). A flashy debut winner at Santa Anita Jan. 21, the bay was also third in the GII San Vicente S. and captured his first start going two turns, defeating Don Alberto=s promising Reach the World (Tapit) in an optional claimer at Santa Anita Mar.