ON THE WARPATH
   WinStar Farm’s Revolutionary (War Pass), a runaway maiden winner in his two-turn bow over the Big A inner surface Dec. 28, overcame some Belt Parkway-like traffic in the stretch to secure an improbable neck victory as the 3-5 chalk over 16-1 Escapefromreality (Read the Footnotes) in the GIII Withers S. "Obviously, things didn’t go well out of the gate, but he hung in there and Javier [Castellano] did a nice job of being patient," WinStar’s Elliott Walden commented. "Finally, when he got some room, he came running. When you’re looking at a race like the Derby, potentially down the road, to get that kind of experience, it’s invaluable." Walden continued, "It was nice to see him come running like that. He couldn’t blow out a match in the winner’s circle. We’ll talk with Todd [Pletcher] and we’ll see. I’d be inclined to take him to Florida and regroup until that last round of preps. Probably just one more race [before the Derby]. This race was worth three in terms of education."

Saturday, Aqueduct
WITHERS S.-GIII, $200,000, AQU, 2-2, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44 1/5, ft.
1--#@REVOLUTIONARY, 116, c, 3, by War Pass
1st Dam: Runup the Colors (GISW, $555,024), by A.P. Indy
2nd Dam: Up the Flagpole, by Hoist the Flag
3rd Dam: The Garden Club, by Herbager
($80,000 yrl '11 KEESEP; $235,000 2yo ‘12 OBSMAR). O-WinStar Farm LLC; B-W S Farish (KY); T-Todd A Pletcher; J-Javier Castellano. $120,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-1-2, $188,500. *Third SW/first GSW for sophomore sire (by Cherokee Run). **1/2 to Tafaseel (Belong to Me), GSP, $122,136; and Ice Road (Unbridled's Song), GSP. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.



2--Escapefromreality, 116, g, 3, Read the Footnotes--Queen of the City, by Medaglia d'Oro. O-MeB Racing Stables LLC & Brooklyn Boyz Stables; B-Brooklyn Boyz Stables Inc (NY); T-Dominick A Schettino. $40,000.


3--Siete de Oros, 118, g, 3, A. P. Warrior--Crafty Sarah, by Crafty Friend. ($2,000 yrl '11 FTMOCT). O/T-Ramon Preciado; B-Glenn E Brok (PA). $20,000.
Margins: NK, 1 3/4, 1 1/4. Odds: 0.75, 16.30, 9.50.
Also Ran: Amerigo Vespucci, Champion Boy, Smooth Bert, Valid, Long River.
Click for the brisnet.com chart or the brisnet.com PPs. VIDEO.
   Revolutionary overcame a nightmare break to finish a promising third as the chalk in his Saratoga unveiling Sept. 3. Freshened, he disappointed as the 1-5 favorite when a clear-cut second to Little Distorted (Distorted Humor) at Belmont Oct. 28, then was third behind next out winner Orb (Malibu Moon) when stretched to a mile at the Big A Nov. 24. Heavily favored off the strength of his aforementioned impressive maiden victory, good for a 102 Beyer, he was off a beat slow here as the neighboring Long River (A.P. Indy) stumbled horribly out of the stalls. Revolutionary never looked quite comfortable while buried along the inside through an opening quarter in :24.22, and was last of eight through a half in :48.18. The WinStar colorbearer began to advance on the turn for home, but was still dressed up with nowhere to go when the field of eight straightened for home. With Castellano remaining cool in the irons, Revolutionary was finally guided out in the stretch and finished up full of run along the inside to nail Escapefromreality on the wire.