NEWS
Soldat takes to the turf in With Anticipation score
Posted: Friday, September 03, 2010 7:57 PM
To watch the With Anticipation Stakes, click here.
by Steve Bailey
Soldat took command approaching the stretch and dug in for a visually impressive three-length victory in the $100,000 With Anticipation Stakes (G3) on Friday on the Saratoga Race Course turf.
The dark bay or brown War Front colt entered the 1 1/16-mile turf race for two-year-olds off a pair of runner-up finishes on dirt—one at Belmont Park and one at Saratoga—in his first two starts for trainer Kiaran McLaughlin, who was hoping the colt would relish the surface change.
“It was very exciting,” McLaughlin said. “He’s run two excellent seconds on the dirt and we thought if he liked the turf, he’d be able to win a race like this. That’s why we entered a maiden in here.
“There’s only a couple of graded stakes for two-year-olds to go to the Breeders’ Cup, so now he’s probably in the Breeders’ Cup. We thought [if he didn’t win today] that we could always go back to win a maiden race.”
Soldat broke sharply under jockey Alan Garcia and took up a stalking position just behind Typhoon Slew, who took the ten-horse field through a half-mile in :47.97 and six furlongs in 1:12.35.
Roused approaching the stretch, Soldat dug in and overtook the leader, drawing off with each lengthening stride to the clear victory, covering the distance in 1:41.37 on turf rated as firm.
“He really took to the grass—very impressive,” Garcia said. “I had a great trip today. When I asked him at the quarter-pole, whoosh! He really took off.”
Powhatan County, the 2-to-1 favorite, finished second, 3¼ lengths in front of Typhoon Slew in third.
Bred in Kentucky by Brookfield Stud, Soldat boosted his earnings to $80,000. He is the first starter out of the unraced Coronado’s Quest mare Le Relais.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Steve Bailey is deputy news editor of Thoroughbred Times
