Battle of Midway ‘unlucky to be beaten’ in San Antonio Stakes

In a sense, Battle of Midway didn’t quite live up to his name in Wednesday’s San Antonio Stakes (G2). He won the rematch with Dabster but lost the war to Gift Box, who surged by the both of them to win the opening day race at 1 1/16 miles.

The runner-up performance by Battle of Midway may halt the 4-year-old Smart Strike colt’s march to the Grade 1, $9 million Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 26 at Gulfstream Park.

“We’re not sure if he’ll run in the Pegasus,” trainer Jerry Hollendorfer said Thursday. “We thought Battle of Midway ran a great race and was unlucky to be beaten. He’s come back very well to racing.”

Since returning from a brief stint at stud, Battle of Midway, who’s campaigned by WinStar Farm and Don Alberto Stable, has won two of five starts. Only once has he finished out of the exacta.

Going back to 2017, the horse flashed plenty of talent as that year’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner.

Sean Tugel, WinStar’s Director of Bloodstock Services and Assistant Racing Manager, said Battle of Midway appeared to do a lot of the “heavy lifting” in the San Antonio with Dabster stuck to him while Gift Box had an easier set up behind the pair.

Battle of Midway entered the San Antonio off a narrow win over Dabster in Del Mar’s Native Diver (G3) in November. Those two locked heads again before Gift Box, a newcomer to trainer John Sadler’s barn, swept up along the outside and went on to defeat Battle of Midway by a half-length.

“He’s a horse that obviously shows up every single race and has a huge amount of heart and that’s a reason why everybody wanted to breed to him last year,” Tugel said. “We’re very excited for his year. He’ll run a lot of races and he’ll win a lot of races.”

Tugel added Battle of Midway could also be considered for other major races.

“He’s run four races now, pretty hard races, since he got back into training,” he said. “It might be a good time to give him a little bit of a break and point him toward something like the Oaklawn Handicap or maybe Dubai there in March.”

The Godolphin Mile (G2) runs March 30 at the end of the Dubai World Cup Carnival and the 1 1/8-miles Oaklawn Handicap (G2) is scheduled for April 13.

Hollendorfer will talk with both WinStar and Don Alberto before a final decision on Battle of Midway’s next move.

“We know some of the horses that are lined up to run,” the trainer said, “but the Pegasus field is not yet formed, so we’ll see.”

WinStar Farm is in partnership on another horse, 3-year-old Audible, that was pointed to the Pegasus but lost his final prep. Tugel said the Todd Pletcher trainee is still under consideration after running second in the Harlan’s Holiday (G3) on Dec. 15 at Gulfstream over a sloppy track. 

Audible was away for six months after running third in the Kentucky Derby. He returned on the Breeders’ Cup undercard at Churchill Downs and rallied to win the Cherokee Run Stakes by two lengths before heading to Gulfstream.  

Audible’s final works leading up to the Pegasus will likely be the biggest determining factor of if he runs or not.

“It’d be his third off the layoff,” Tugel said, “so he might have another move forward in him, hopefully.”