ARCADIA, Calif. – Grade 1 winner Stronghold is back, and poised for a big summer campaign after a solid Grade 3 victory Sunday at Santa Anita. Winner of the Santa Anita Derby in 2024, Stronghold scored his first stakes victory since then on Sunday, winning the seven-furlong Triple Bend Stakes by 2 1/2 lengths over pacesetter Simple Song. Bartholdy, The Goat and The Last Straw completed the order of finish. Phil D’Amato trains Stronghold for owner-breeders Rick and Sharon Waller. No one was surprised by his victory, including bettors. Stronghold paid $3. “I sensed he was ready for a big race, and he lived up to it today,” D’Amato said. “He acted really sharp going into this race. Pretty sensational, at least going by the time.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Stronghold and jockey Antonio Fresu crossed the wire in 1:21.36 over a Santa Anita track that produced fast times early on the card. The race could not have unfolded any better for the winner. Stronghold broke well from the outside post, but The Goat surprisingly sped to the lead before Simple Song took over. “Antonio (Fresu) made the nice move and let (Simple Song) go on the inside on him and just tracked him.” Simple Song sped the first quarter-mile in :21.88 and the opening half in :44.31, with Stronghold breathing down his neck. Stronghold collared the pacesetter into the stretch before cruising home for his fifth victory from 14 starts. Stronghold has earned more than $1.8 million and is a fresh horse going into summer. He scored a dead-heat win in his comeback last month at Oaklawn Park. D’Amato was asked, what’s next for Stronghold? “It’s just a question of if we want to keep him short and have our goal be the Pat O’Brien, or go long in the San Diego and who knows after that?” Both races are at Del Mar. The seven-furlong Grade 2 Pat O’Brien on Aug. 29 is a Win and You’re In for the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. The 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 San Diego Handicap is July 18. Simple Song ran well while making his first start since an entry-level allowance win on March 7. Bartholdy extended his streak of third-place finishes in graded stakes, streak now up to five. The Goat, a Chilean Group 1 winner making his first start in a year and a half, showed surprising speed from the gate, tucked back to chase from third, and went one-paced in a race designed as a prep for the San Diego. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.