NEWS
Battle Hardened loses maiden status in Sam F. Davis Stakes
Posted: Saturday, February 04, 2012 7:04 PM
BATTLE HARDENED WINS SAM F. DAVIS STAKES
Tom Cooley Photography
For video of the Sam F. Davis Stakes, click here.
by Tim Nichols
Michael Tabor’s and Susan Magnier’s Battle Hardened entered the $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) a maiden and exited a graded stakes winner and Triple Crown trail contender with a 1¼-length win on Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs.
The Giant’s Causeway colt gamely accelerated in the stretch to push past Reveron and win the 1 1/16-mile race in 1:44.58 under Julien Leparoux.
Besides crossing the finish line first, what impressed winning trainer Eddie Kenneally was how Battle Hardened handled traffic in the second half of the race. The ability to shake off competition in tight quarters and surge in the final quarter-mile should serve the three-year-old well in the future.
“He was in a group of horses in tight and he had plenty of reasons to back out of there if he wanted to, but he showed a little bit of gameness and a little bit of toughness like you want to see going forward to the bigger races down the road,” Kenneally said. “He showed a little more professionalism. We knew when his races started to go longer he was going to be a better horses. Two-turn races are what he wants to do and he is very good at it, and I feel he is an improving horse.”
The victory gave Battle Hardened $120,000 in graded stakes earnings, which immediately puts him in the picture for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), which is limited to 20 starters determined by earnings in graded stakes.
A half brother to 2004 Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) winner Colonial Colony out of stakes winner Jen’s Fashion, by Northern Fashion, Battle Hardened had shown an affinity for longer races prior to Saturday. He entered off a pair of runner-up finishes, beaten by two lengths in a 1 1/16-mile race at Churchill Downs on November 26 and second by a head in a 1 1/8-mile race at Gulfstream Park on December 31.
More distance appears probable for the Giant’s Causeway colt with the $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby (G2) on the horizon.
“We had also entered him in a [maiden race] at Gulfstream today, but he’s been training brilliantly and we were happy with how he was coming into the race, so we decided to come here and get some of the big money,” Kenneally said.
Grey Stakes (Can-G3) winner Prospective overcame a wide trip to finish a game second, a nose better than third-place finisher Reveron. Trainer Mark Casse said the Tampa Bay Derby on March 10 is the next target for Prospective.
Bred in Kentucky, Battle Hardened increased his career earnings to $138,855 with his first win in his fourth start.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Tim Nichols is Internet content editor of Thoroughbred Times
