Wednesday’s TimeformUS Highlight Horse: Well-bred Battlement finds the right spot for her U.S. debut

Aqueduct | Race 7 | Post Time 4:44 p.m. (ET) | Go to the FREE TimeformUS PPs

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There is quite a bit going on in this interesting feature race. Chad Brown sends out the likely favorite, but his runner has some questions to answer. Volatility Index (#1) was visually impressive when breaking her maiden by nearly six lengths at Gulfstream, but she did so against a fairly weak field for the level and gets a major class test here.

Other Florida shippers to consider include Glory to Kitten (#5) and Realistic (#8), but they, too, are meeting some tougher company in this spot. I would even throw in longshot Not Taken (#3), who ran deceptively well in a few local turf starts towards the end of her 2016 campaign.

These runners have their merits, but I’m ultimately trying to beat them with Bill Mott's recent import BATTLEMENT (#7).

This Juddmonte homebred has a pedigree that suggests we have not yet seen the best of her. She is very nearly a full sister to Suffused, who has become a multiple graded stakes winner for these same connections since making the trip to the United States last year. (The two share a dam and their sires are full brothers.) While Battlement's British form does not look terribly inspiring, our Timeform foreign correspondents had nothing but positive things to say about her races last year, suggesting that her overall form is stronger than it appears at first glance. (Read more in the free TimeformUS PPs for this race.) This could be the start to a productive 4-year-old campaign for this filly.

THE PLAY

Win: 7
Exacta Key Box: 7 with 1,3,5,8
Trifecta: 7 with 1,3,5,8 with 1,3,5,8