Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey’s homebred DAWN OF WAR (Catienus) sprinted to the
lead from his outside post and had established a clear advantage near the rail
by the first turn of Saturday’s $500,000
Breeders’ Futurity (G1). The race was
over from there as jockey John Jacinto guided the Dale Romans-trained juvenile
through uncontested fractions of :23 4/5, :48 2/5 and 1:14 3/5, and the dark bay
colt reached the top of the stretch with a three-length lead. He cruised to the
wire for a 3 1/2-length upset at 36-1 odds, recording his first graded win and
finishing 1 1/16 miles in 1:48 3/5 over the fast Keeneland track.
Runner-up in his first two starts, Dawn of War broke his maiden in the Brian
Barenscheer Juvenile S. at Canterbury Park in late July and was exiting a
runner-up finish in the Cradle S. at River Downs. He paid $74.60, $24.20 and
$11.20, and Catcominatcha (Tale of the Cat) came
running late for second at 21-1 to cap the nice $870.20 exacta. The runner-up
was good for $16.60 and $8.60, and it was another 3 1/4 lengths back to the
late-running Stream Cat (Black Minnaloushe), who completed the $6,894 trifecta
at 7-2 and gave back $4.20. The 11-6-5-2 superfecta, with Sharp Attack (Storm
Cat) in fourth, totaled a whopping $35,775.80.
Laity (Pulpit), the 3-1 favorite in the field of 12, came next and was
followed by High Cotton (Dixie Union), Greater Fool (Exploit), Charley Tango
(Maria’s Mon), Reaffirmed (Quaker Ridge), Kid Lemonade (Lemon Drop Kid) and Rungius
(Cat Thief). Cool Creek (Ire) (Desert Style) gave way and did not finish. Menacing (Lemon Drop Kid) and
Special Interest (Stravinsky) were withdrawn.
After crossing under the line, Greater Fool collapsed and was vanned off. His
condition was unknown as of press time.
The second foal out of the winning Hillary Step (Chimes Band), the
Kentucky-bred Dawn of War more than quadrupled his career earnings with the
$310,000 payday and now shows a bankroll of $403,800 from a 6-3-3-0 line. He has
an unnamed yearling full brother and weanling half-sister by Sligo Bay (Ire).
“This horse always tries hard,” Romans said. “From the outside, we had to go.
It’s always nice to have a speed horse at Keeneland…he didn’t switch leads but
we’re working on that. I am sure Mr. Ramsey will want to go to the Breeders’ Cup
(Juvenile [G1]).”