Battle of Midway possible for Haskell Invitational

ARCADIA, Calif. - Battle of Midway had no difficultly beating three overmatched rivals in Saturday’s Grade 3 Affirmed Stakes for 3-year-olds at Santa Anita for his first stakes win.

Sent off as the 1-10 favorite, Battle of Midway led throughout to win the race at 1 1/16 miles by 4 1/4 lengths.

His next assignment will be trickier.

Trainer Jerry Hollendorfer is considering Battle of Midway for the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on July 30, a race that could draw such prominent 3-year-olds as Classic Empire, the champion 2-year-old male of 2016 who was second in the Preakness Stakes last month, and Timeline, who won the Grade 3 Pegasus Stakes at Monmouth Park on June 18 and is unbeaten in four starts.

“He’s ready to try a Grade 1 again,” Hollendorfer said. “It may be the Haskell.”

Earlier this year, Battle of Midway was second in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby in April and third in the Kentucky Derby on May 6.

Owned by Don Alberto Stable and WinStar Farm, Battle of Midway has won 3 of 6 starts and earned $550,000.

“He’s never run a bad race,” Hollendorfer said. “He needed to get a graded win.”

The next stakes for 3-year-olds on dirt in southern California is the Grade 3 Los Alamitos Derby, a $200,000 race at 1 1/8 miles July 15.

Trainers Hollendorfer and Doug O’Neill said Sunday they expect to have runners. Hollendorfer said he hopes to run Colonist, an allowance class runner, and Grecian Fire, who won the Alcatraz Stakes on turf at Golden Gate Fields on May 14.

O’Neill is considering B Squared and Term of Art, who were second and third to Battle of Midway in Saturday’s Grade 3 Affirmed Stakes at Santa Anita; and Milton Freewater, who was 10th in the Snow Chief Stakes for California-breds on turf May 29.