Battle of Midway (Smart Strike), the 9-5 morning-line favorite will be looking for his third straight victory when he goes postward in Wednesday's GII San Antonio S. at Santa Anita. The bay colt was an open-lengths winner of the Comma to the Top S. over the Arcadia oval Oct. 28, but had to outbattle a determined Dabster (Curlin) to win the Nov. 25 GIII Native Diver S. at Del Mar last time out.
“He hasn't missed a beat [in his training],” Dan Ward, assistant to trainer Jerry Hollendorfer, said of Battle of Midway's preparation for the San Antonio. “He ran a good race last out. He had to go head and head all the way, so that should have him plenty fit. He's worked well here at Santa Anita and he's run well here, so he's ready to go.”
Battle of Midway will break from post two in the nine-horse 1 1/16-mile race and Dabster will be just to his outside in post three. The Bob Baffert trainee, 5-2 on the morning-line, will once again be ridden by Joe Talamo.
“He's a fun horse to ride,” Talamo said of Dabster, who worked a bullet four furlongs in :46.60 last Friday in the company of GI Malibu S. contender Solomini (Curlin). “He shows up every time, and even when he loses, he really tries hard. It should be a good race with him and Battle of Midway. They're two good horses. Hopefully, we can flip the page this time.”
Gift Box (Twirling Candy) will be making his first start for trainer John Sadler and Hronis Racing. The 5-year-old has not been out since winning a Mar. 24 optional-claiming race at Aqueduct for W. S. Farish and trainer Chad Brown. Third in the 2015 GII Remsen S. and fourth in the 2016 GI Travers S., the handsome gray is looking for his first graded stakes tally in the San Antonio. He turned in a bullet five-furlong work in 1:00 Dec. 19 at Santa Anita.
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