True Valour ($25) scores upset in Thunder Road Stakes

ARCADIA, Calif. - True Valour gave British-based jockey Andrea Atzeni his first win in the United States with an upset victory in Saturday’s Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes for turf milers at Santa Anita.

Atzeni is riding at Santa Anita through the end of the month. True Valour was Atzeni’s 19th mount of the winter meeting and his only mount on Saturday’s 11-race program.

True Valour ($25) closed from fifth in a field of six to win by a half-length over 6-1 Ohio. Le Ken, a 22-1 outsider, finished third.

River Boyne, the 7-10 favorite, finished a troubled fourth, beaten 1 1/4 lengths. River Boyne was racing on the inside on the turn and was unable to find sufficient room between runners in the final furlong to pose a threat.

The loss left leading jockey Flavien Prat frustrated. Prat has ridden River Boyne to four stakes wins in the last year.

“I tried to get out,” Prat said. “I couldn’t be where I wanted to be.”

True Valour raced two-wide in fifth on the backstretch, stalking Blackjackcat who set a modest pace of 23.94 seconds for the opening quarter-mile and 48.52 for a half-mile. True Valour progressed to third with a furlong remaining and reached the front without significant urging from Atzeni.

True Valour was timed in 1:36.35 and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 95.

“The plan was to make a late run on the outside,” Atzeni said. “I didn’t want to be too close.

“I was keeping an eye on Flavien. He was on the horse to beat.”

True Valour, a 5-year-old Irish-bred horse by Kodiac, had his fourth start in the United States in the $100,351 Thunder Road Stakes. Trained by Simon Callaghan for Qatar Racing, True Valour was seventh in the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes and 10th in the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile last summer.

True Valour did not start again until Jan. 13, finishing third in an allowance race with an $80,000 claiming option at a mile on turf here. Atzeni was aboard for that race.

True Valour has won 4 of 18 starts and earned $235,112. He was a two-time stakes winner in Ireland for trainer Johnny Murtagh before joining Callaghan’s stable, winning the Celebration Stakes at a mile at the Curragh in 2017 and the Group 3 Ballycorus Stakes at seven furlongs at Leopardstown last June in his final start in that country.

Atzeni, 27, won two Grade 1 races at Woodbine last fall. Earlier this decade, he was stable rider for Qatar Racing in England along with Oisin Murphy.