Battle of Midway to invade for Kelso Handicap

ELMONT, N.Y. – Battle of Midway, the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner, will make the second start of his comeback in the Grade 2, $300,000 Kelso Handicap next Saturday at Belmont Park, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said Friday.

Battle of Midway was put back into training earlier this year after he was found to be subfertile. He finished a well-beaten second to Catalina Cruiser in the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien on Aug. 25 at Del Mar. Hollendorfer thought about running Battle of Midway in the Awesome Again at 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita but ultimately decided the Kelso, a one-turn mile, was “the best plan of action.”

The Kelso could be a good stepping-stone to a repeat bid in the Dirt Mile on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs.

“Without predicting what we would do, I’m sure that’s something that’s in the back of everybody’s mind,” said Hollendorfer, who trains Battle of Midway for Don Alberto and WinStar Farm.

Battle of Midway worked a strong five furlongs in 58.80 seconds on Sept. 8 at Santa Anita and was scheduled to work Saturday before shipping to New York on Wednesday.

Flavien Prat, Battle of Midway’s regular rider, is scheduled to ride.

Others pointing to the Kelso include No Dozing, Pat On the Back, Patternrecognition, Realm, and Timeline. Still Having Fun, Sunny Ridge, and Aztec Sense are possible, though the latter two also could run in the $150,000 Pennsylvania Derby Champion Stakes at Parx Racing on the same day.

On Friday at Belmont Park, Realm worked five furlongs in 59.90 in company with the filly Verve’s Tale, who is pointing to the Grade 1 Beldame. Realm has won his last two starts, including the Alydar at Saratoga.