The 3-year-old male division is considered wide open after three different colts - Mystik Dan, Seize the Grey, and Dornoch - won the three legs of the Triple Crown. Heading into the major summer events for the division, a new player has announced himself on the stage, as the royally bred Batten Down rolled to a front-running, 1 3/4-length victory in his stakes debut, the Grade 3, $500,000 Ohio Derby, on Saturday at Thistledown. This was the fifth career start for Batten Down ($8.60), a Juddmonte homebred trained by Bill Mott. The Tapit colt became the third graded stakes winner out of his dam, Juddmonte’s Eclipse Award champion Close Hatches, joining full siblings Tacitus and Scylla. After knocking at the door in early efforts this season, Batten Down unlocked his potential by getting more ground and using free-running tactics under Junior Alvarado, coasting to an 8 3/4-length maiden victory going 10 furlongs on April 30 at Churchill Downs. :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  The maiden win was so impressive, Batten Down was briefly considered for the Belmont Stakes, before his connections ultimately opted to take a slower route with his development. He still found a solid field in the Ohio Derby to serve as a good litmus test for his future in the division. The heavy favorite was Louisiana Derby winner Catching Freedom, who finished a creditable fourth in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Preakness Stakes. Batten Down and Alvarado broke from the outside in a scratch-reduced field of six starters at Thistledown. The colt immediately sought the lead, and cleared the field in the run into the first turn through a sharp opening quarter of 22.86 seconds. He proceeded to rate kindly for Alvarado while leading by five lengths through a half in 46.82 seconds. Meanwhile, Gould's Gold was racing on the inside in second, with Catching Freedom on his hip. Those two began to eat into the leader's margin entering the far turn, and appeared to have dead aim with about three furlongs remaining. But Batten Down had more in the tank when set down for the drive. Despite clearly still being a developing horse - he ran on his left lead through the upper part of the stretch, not changing until late - he held a clear margin through the run to the wire. He stopped the clock in 1:50.20 for the nine furlongs on the dirt track rated fast and earned a 93 Beyer Speed Figure. Gould's Gold held second by three-quarters of a length over multiple stakes winner Copper Tax, who was making up ground late after being bumped at the start. It was the second straight runner-up effort in a stakes for Gould's Gould, who was beaten just a nose in the Sir Barton last month at Pimlico. Copper Tax finished a half-length ahead of Catching Freedom, who finished evenly while racing in the five-path. Uncle Heavy, making his first start since finishing sixth in the Preakness, broke inwardly, and was no factor throughout. It was more than a dozen lengths back to Charleston, the longest shot on the board. Deposition, Frizzante, Mugatu, and Who's the King scratched. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.