War Treaty the one to catch in Jersey Derby

The $75,000 Jersey Derby includes entrants from all the usual suspects – Chad Brown, Todd Pletcher, and Graham Motion. But the horse with the most speed in the seven-horse field is War Treaty, a castoff of sorts who has steadily improved in four starts for Parx Racing-based horseman Louis Linder Jr.

The Jersey Derby, a 1 1/16-mile turf race, is a competitive affair with Standard Deviation (Brown), War Treaty, and Swamp Rat, who races for Phil Gleaves, all running Beyer Speed Figures in the mid-80s. But War Treaty’s early foot sets him apart, and jockey Paco Lopez – who is winning races at the Monmouth meet at a 33 percent clip – may be able to control the pace.

“I’m going to tell Paco that my horse will want the lead and he should just try to do it on his own terms,” Linder said.

War Treaty, a Scat Daddy colt bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, was a $550,000 yearling buy at the 2017 Keeneland September sale. He made his first five starts for WinStar Farm, the China Horse Club, SF Racing, and Stonestreet Stables, before Linder bought him for $75,000 on behalf of Michael Mellen’s Bran Jam Stable at the Keeneland April horses of racing age sale.

“Mr. Mellen sent me there with $80,000 to get him something,” Linder said. “The first horse I liked went for too much. This guy isn’t a big horse, but I liked him. I knew I’d have to pay for him because he’s by Scat Daddy, but because he’d run for $30,000 twice I knew I’d have two years of starter races with him. That was what made it worth it.”

War Treaty, who is co-owned by David Clark, won a $40,000 starter race at Belmont Park in June while making his first start for Linder. He has since won a first-level allowance at Monmouth and missed by a half-length in the Frisk Me Now Stakes at Monmouth.

“He’s just kept improving for me,” Linder said. “He’s gotten better and better.”

There are no thoughts of taking War Treaty off the pace Sunday.

“That’s just him, he likes going to the front. We’re not going to be able to change that,” said Linder, who has 31 wins in 2019. “He’s a fighter. He does not want another horse to go by him.”

Linder, 63, has a 35-horse stable at Parx and last year won 58 races, a personal best. He had his first stakes winner with Order and Law in the Laurel Futurity.

Linder said, “2018 was a career year for me.

Swamp Rat figures to stalk War Treaty early and will likely take first run at him. Swamp Rat finished fifth, beaten 2 1/2 lengths, in the Grade 2 Hall of Fame last time out at Saratoga.

Standard Deviation won the Tale of the Cat Stakes at Monmouth in early June. He most recently was fifth in the Grade 1 Belmont Derby and could go favored.

Current will be making his first start for Pletcher since a fourth-place finish in the James W. Murphy Stakes at Pimlico in May.

Motion will equip Inclusive with blinkers. He has made his last two starts at Woodbine, finishing third in the Toronto Cup and fifth in the Charlie Barley.