Kentucky-bred Stronghold prevailed narrowly in a thrilling renewal of the $750,000 Santa Anita Derby (G1) on Saturday, April 6.
Ridden by Antonio Fresu, Stronghold gamely split horses at the top of the stretch and outdieled race favorited Imagination and jockey Frankie Dettori to the wire to score by a neck. He covered 1 1/8 miles in 1:49.98. The earn earned Stronghold 100 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby (G1) leaderboard and a spot in the starting gate for the Derby.
In his previous start, Stronghold won the Sunland Derby (G3) in New Mexico. He also finished second in both the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2) and the Bob Hope Stakes (G3) at Del Mar last year at two. A Kentucky homebred for Eric and Sharon Waller, Stronghold is trained by Phil D’Amato. The son of Ghostzapper is out of the Jimmy Creed mare Spectator. All told, he has banked $827,200 and is a winner in three of six lifetime starts.
“We thought we needed a top three performance to get to the Kentucky Derby,” D’Amato said. “We were definitely hoping to get on the winning end here. I think this was a great education for him. And a nice test that he’s going to need to win a race like the Kentucky Derby.
“I was hoping we’d get that track and trip,” D’Amato added. “It was a nice little speed battle back there, and he handled it well. He didn’t really get the easiest trip coming around the turn. But luckily, he was able to squeeze through a small hole there and prove that he can be the best when it comes down to the wire.”