Great White surges to Battaglia Memorial upset at 15-1

Great White made a three-wide move around the far turn and held off a late charge from Fulleffort to win Saturday night's 44th running of the $174,835 John Battaglia Memorial at Turfway Park, closing out the prep season on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Ridden by Alex Achard and trained by John Ennis, Great White completed 1 1/16 miles in 1:46.83. Sent off at odds of 15-1, he paid $32.32.

Street Beast, the 9-5 favorite, broke sharply and went immediately to the lead under jockey Luan Machado. Into the first turn, Attfield joined him to his outside as Great White tracked in third.

Street Beast carved out an opening quarter-mile in :23.88 seconds with Attfield continuing to hound him through a half-mile in :48.84 seconds. Around the far turn, Great White made a bold three-wide move and hit the lead but had to hold off a late charge from Fulleffort, who found his best stride in the center of the track. Inside the final sixteenth, Great White dug down deep to gamely fend off Fulleffort by a neck.

"He was in a great spot throughout the race," Ennis said. "Last time out he didn't get away from there well but Alex (Achard) was able to get him away from the gate better tonight and got a good position. Alex thought he might have moved a little too soon but the horse kept finding more for him. You can see how big he is, and I think the greater the distance, the better for him. With his size, you have to wait and see how he comes out of this before deciding the next option. We'll talk it over with the owner and make a plan. He's a very exciting prospect moving forward."

"He was traveling great the entire race," Achard said. "I was a little worried when I hit the front because I didn't want to move too soon on him, but he really stretched out nicely."

It was 1 1/4 lengths back to Maximus Prime in third. He was followed by Baytown Dreamer, Steel Imperium, Kilo Tango, Attfield, Aces Honor, Two Out Hero, Time for Money and Street Beast.

Great White, owned by Three Chimneys Farm, is a gelded son of Volatile out of the Uncle Mo mare Kelly Bag. He was bred in Kentucky by Stud TNT.

The John Battaglia Memorial awards the top five finishers qualifying points on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale toward a spot in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. The race also serves as the local prep for the March 21, $777,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) on the Road to the Kentucky Derby Championship Series.