Battle Station took his record to two-for-two with a dominant wire-to-wire victory in the state-bred Bertram F. Bongard S. at Belmont Friday afternoon. A debut winner sprinting on the turf against fellow Empire-breds at Saratoga Aug. 25, he was sent off at 5-1 in this main track debut. Seizing the early advantage, the dark bay ticked off comfortable opening splits of :22.94 and :45.94. With plenty left in the tank entering the stretch, Battle Station effortlessly cruised clear to win for fun.
“My horse trigged the gate because he just wanted to come out so bad, and it just caused a chain reaction with Johnny [Velazquez]'s horse [What a Catch],” jockey Kendrick Carmouche said, referring to the incident before the start in which What a Catch broke through the gate taking down the assistant starter. “The good thing is both of them were OK and fought through the race. My horse ran very good and I'd like to thank [trainer] Wesley [Ward] and the Ramseys [owners].”
The winner's dam produced a filly by Amira's Prince (Ire) this year and was bred back to Anthony's Cross. Battle Station hails from the female family of champion Street Sense and MGSW sire Mr. Greeley.
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BERTRAM F. BONGARD S., $147,000, BEL, 9-22, (S), 2yo, 7f, 1:24.83, ft.
1–#BATTLE STATION, 120, c, 2, by Warrior's Reward
1st Dam: Uriel, by Unbridled
2nd Dam: Episode, by Kris S.
3rd Dam: Long Legend, by Reviewer
($50,000 Wlg '15 KEENOV). O-Kenneth & Sarah Ramsey;
B-Lansdowne Thoroughbreds (NY); T-Wesley A. Ward;
J-Kendrick Carmouche. $90,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0,
$133,800.
2–Inalienable Rights, 120, c, 2, Mission Impazible–Corre Scout,
by El Corredor. ($35,000 Wlg '15 FTNMIX; $102,000 Ylg '16
SARAUG). O-Alan Brodsky; B-Rhapsody Farm LLC & Jon Davis
(NY); T-Mark A. Hennig. $30,000.
3–What a Catch, 122, c, 2, Justin Phillip–Catch My Fancy, by Yes
It's True. ($90,000 Ylg '16 SARAUG; $265,000 2yo '17
FTFMAR). O-Gary Barber; B-Castleton Lyons & Kilboy Estate
(NY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $15,000.
Margins: 9 1/4, 7 3/4, 3. Odds: 5.10, 1.05, 1.85.
Also Ran: Ultimateenticement, Alien Invasion.
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