Battle of Normandy comfortable winner of the River City (Coady Media)
Churchill Downs Press Relase
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – New York invader Battle of Normandy tracked pacesetter Wonderful Justice (GB), surged to the front leaving the final turn and extended his lead down the stretch to comfortably win Saturday’s 45th running of the $300,000 River City (Grade III) at Churchill Downs by 1 ¾ lengths over Reckoning Force.
Battle of Normandy, owned by West Point Thoroughbreds LLC and Woodford Racing LLC, ran 1 1/8 miles over a “firm” Matt Winn Turf Course in 1:48.79 to defeat eight other 3-year-olds and up and collect his first stakes win.
Luan Machado rode the winner for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey III, who won the race for the second year in a row and third time overall. Smokin’ T was victorious a year ago and Eminency won the seventh renewal in 1984 with when the race was carded at one mile on the main track.
Wonderful Justice (GB) set relaxed fractions of :24.77, :49.88 and 1:14.05 as Battle of Normandy raced within a half-length off his right hip. Leaving the final turn, Battle of Normandy poked his head in front and then rushed to a 1 ½ length advantage at the top of the stretch. Reckoning Force, who raced in mid-pack down the backstretch, rallied between horses inside the final sixteenth of mile but no match for the easy winner.
“He was a bit head strong going into the first turn but I tried to get him to settle as much as I could going onto the backside,” Machado said. “He was so full of himself and just dragging me the entire time. I watched his last few races and you could see with the blinkers he liked to be pretty close. He’s a very impressive moving colt. We weren’t going too fast early so I was confident turning for home he’d still have a lot of energy left. He just took off when I asked him and finished up very well.”
#8 BATTLE OF NORMANDY ($10.32) under @luanmachado85 pulled away in the stretch to win the $300,000 River City Stakes (G3) at @ChurchillDowns. The son of City of Light (@LanesEndFarms) is trained by Shug McGaughey.
— FanDuel Racing (@FanDuel_Racing) November 9, 2024
Watch more on @FanDuelTV. pic.twitter.com/A1kVqFHeju
Battle of Normandy returned mutuels of $10.32, $4.94 and $3.50 as the 4-1 fourth betting choice. Reckoning Force, at 7-2 under Tyler Gaffalione, paid $5.02 and $3.34. It was another three-quarters of a length back in third to Gigante under Cristian Torres, who paid $4.96 to show at odds of 7-1.
Cash Equity (FR), the mild 3-1 favorite under Mike Smith, finished fourth and was followed by Wonderful Justice (GB), Masteroffoxhounds, Emmanuel, Public Sector (GB) and Hades. Harlan Estate were scratched.
The victory for Battle of Normandy was worth $178,800 and increased his earnings to $643,195. He sports a record of 5-3-1 in 13 starts.
This was Battle of Normandy’s sixth appearance in a graded stakes before finally breaking through with a win. At 2, he was second in the With Anticipation (GIII) and, as a 3-year-old, he finished third in the Dueling Grounds Derby (GIII).
Battle of Normandy has won his last four starts. He prevailed under allowance conditions in his previous three starts in New York at Aqueduct and Saratoga.
Battle of Normandy, a 4-year-old son of City of Light out of the Kitten’s Joy mare Adorable Miss, was bred in Kentucky by Gage Hill Stables LLC and William S. Farish.
