Stronghold prevails by a neck under Antonio Fresu in a thrilling edition of the Santa Anita Derby (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire)
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Santa Anita Press Box
ARCADIA, Calif.— The 87th GI, $750,000 Santa Anita Derby lived up to the hype Saturday when Stronghold prevailed in an absolute thriller before a crowd of 32,089.
Stronghold and jockey Antonio Fresu gamely split horses at the top of the stretch and outdueled even-money favorite Imagination and Frankie Dettori to the wire to score by a neck. With the victory, Stronghold is now qualified for the 150th Kentucky Derby on May 4 at Churchill Downs.
Stronghold is trained by Phil D’Amato, who has never had a starter in the Kentucky Derby. By Ghostzapper, Stronghold races as a homebred for Eric and Sharon Waller.
“We thought we needed a top three performance to get to the Kentucky Derby,” D’Amato said. “We were definitely hoping to get on the winning end here. I think this was a great education for him, and a nice test that he’s going to need to win a race like the Kentucky Derby.”
Longshot E J Won the Cup (23-1), ridden by Mike Smith for trainer Doug O’Neill, finished 4 ½ lengths back in third. Curlin’s Kaos , the longest shot on the board at 59-1, was another 4 ½ lengths back in fourth.
Stronghold, the 5-2 second choice, covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.98. He paid $6.40, $3.00 and $2.40. Imagination returned $2.80 and $2.20 while E J Won the Cup paid $4.60 to show.
After a clean break for all, Tapalo (10-1) and Umberto Rispoli went to the front with Imagination stalking to his outside and Stronghold taking up a stalking position mid-pack. Tapalo carved solid fractions of 22.72, 46.73 and 1:10.90 for six furlongs. On the second turn, Tapalo continued to lead while E J Won the Cup attempted to reach Imagination while some four wide.
Stronghold began to ease out for racing room entering the stretch, but Smith on E J Won the Cup was doing his best to keep the winner pinned in. Stronghold had other ideas. He bulled through the three-horse scrum, edged clear and then had to hold off one final surge from Imagination to earn the victory.
“I was hoping we’d get that track and trip,” D’Amato said. “It was a nice little speed battle back there, and he handled it well. He didn’t really get the easiest trip coming around the turn, but luckily, he was able to squeeze through a small hole there and prove that he can be the best when it comes down to the wire.”
This was Stronghold’s second straight graded stakes win following a victory in the GIII Sunland Derby in New Mexico on Feb. 18. He previously was second in both the GII Los Alamitos Futurity on Dec. 16 and the seven-furlong GIII Bob Hope at Del Mar in November.
For Fresu, a 32-year-old native of the Italian island Sardinia, this was his first Grade I win in the U.S. Stronghold will also be his first-ever mount in the Kentucky Derby.
“It is my first Grade I in America and it is all thanks to these great people that gave me the opportunity to ride this fantastic horse,” Fresu said. “He proved to be a good horse last time. I loved the way Phil D’Amato was training him the last couple of works. The horse was getting so much confidence and he was getting so much better than before. Today he proved to be a very good horse.”
Pacesetter Tapalo finished fifth and was followed by Wynstock (7-1), Mc Vay (10-1) and Tessuto (33-1).
Santa Anita hosts an 11-race card Sunday, which is the final day of the Classic Meet. First post is 1 p.m. Live racing will resume April 19 with the start of the Santa Anita Hollywood Meet.
Grade I, $750,000 Santa Anita Derby Quotes
Jockey Quotes
Antonio Fresu, Stronghold, Winner: “It is my first Grade I in America and it is all thanks to these great people that gave me the opportunity to ride this fantastic horse. He proved to be a good horse last time. I loved the way Phil D’Amato was training him the last couple of works. The horse was getting so much confidence and he was getting so much better than before. Today he proved to be a very good horse. Still, when he hit the front, he didn’t want to stay alone, he was waiting for some company. He got the job done and I want to dedicate this to my friend that passed away. I felt like he was there with me today. Stefano Cherchi was an amazing guy and I want to dedicate this to him.
“I love this horse from the first time I sat on him. I saw all the time I breezed him and been riding him with every race I see his improvement. To be honest, I was very confident that he could do it. And he did it. Fair play to this horse he is just amazing.”
Frankie Dettori, Imagination, Second: “We jumped good, and we had a good pace, Mike Smith (E J Won the Cup) twisted my hand a little early, so I kind of pushed him a little bit earlier than I wanted to. In the stretch I was vulnerable for a closer. When he passed us, my horse kept fighting back we were head in head, and he was too strong for me down the line.”
Trainer Quotes
Phil D’Amato, Stronghold, Winner: “I was hoping we’d get that track and trip. It was a nice little speed battle back there, and he handled it well. He didn’t really get the easiest trip coming around the turn, but luckily, he was able to squeeze through a small hole there and prove that he can be the best when it comes down to the wire. We thought we needed a top three performance to get to the Kentucky Derby. We were definitely hoping to get on the winning end here.
“I think this was a great education for him, and a nice test that he’s going to need to win a race like the Kentucky Derby. I’ve been training him exactly the way he performed this afternoon, sitting him behind teams, having him come get them. That’s what you’re going to need to win big races like the Kentucky Derby, and he’s developing into that horse.”
Owner Quotes
Sharon Waller, Stronghold, Winner: “I’m so happy that we have Stronghold. He has been unique in so many ways. He lays down a lot in the barn in his stall and he is just resting for the big race.
Rick Waller, Stronghold, Winner: “I was watching the fractional times of the race, and I knew they were going pretty fast up front and I knew we were sitting back stalking. So I felt pretty good that those horses might want to come back, although that 4 horse (Imagination) was very strong and continued on. Stronghold likes a target. We used that horse as the target and went by him when it counted.”
