Gretzky the Great to Make 2021 Debut in John Battaglia

With qualifying points toward the 2021 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) on the line, the $100,000 John Battaglia Memorial Stakes Feb. 26 at Turfway Park has drawn a strong overflow field of 13 horses.

The 1 1/16-mile race, which is run on the all-weather track, offers points toward the Derby in increments of 10-4-2-1 to the first four finishers. 

One of two highweights in the field will be Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gary Barber's Gretzky the Great. The 3-year-old Nyquist  colt is already a grade 1 winner on the turf, having picked up his first top-level victory at 2 in the Summer Stakes (G1T) at Woodbine. 

Gretzky the Great's first trip out of his native Canada came in November at Keeneland in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Presented by Coolmore America (G1T). Despite breaking well from the gate, the colt was muscled out by other runners ahead of the stretch run and faded, finishing sixth. It was the first time in five starts he had finished off the board. 

"He got a little banged up in the Breeders' Cup," said trainer Mark Casse. "He couldn't open his eye the next day after the race. It took him a little while to get over that but he's come back, he's trained well, and we're looking forward to getting him going."

Gretzky the Great has been training at Palm Meadows ahead of the John Battaglia and recently posted a four-furlong move Feb. 19 on the dirt. He was clocked in :50 flat.

"He's training well," said Casse. "We were anxious to get him back going. We had talked about possibly giving him a start on the dirt, but nothing lined up great for us, so we decided to come back here on the Tapeta at Turfway. We'll have to figure out what direction we go from there, whether it's dirt or turf or Woodbine. He is a Canadian-bred, so he is eligible to the Queen's Plate."

Gretzky the Great will break from the rail under Gerardo Corrales. 

"I've said this a million times—Tapeta is easier on them, so you don't have to have them quite as fit," said Casse. "That's one of the reasons we're there. We just didn't feel like dirt-wise he was ready yet, so this was a little bit of a compromise. Got a good post position; hopefully he comes away from there running, and we'll go from there."

The co-highweight in Friday's field will be Catman, a 3-year-old son of Kitten's Joy  trained by Mike Maker. Like Gretzky the Great, Catman became a stakes winner at 2 when he took home the Laurel Futurity at Pimlico Race Course. 

The Battaglia will be the second start of 2021 for Catman, who enters off a fifth-place run in the Jan. 31 Texas Turf Mile Stakes at Sam Houston Race Park. Campaigned by Paradise Farms, David Staudacher, John Piehowicz, Angelo Carlesimo, and Maker, he will partner with Emmanuel Esquivel from post 11. 

Entries: John Battaglia Memorial S.

Turfway Park, Friday, February 26, 2021, Race 5

• STK
• 1 1/16m
• All Weather Track
• $100,000
• 3 yo
• 8:16 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Gretzky the Great (ON)	Gerardo Corrales	124	Mark E. Casse	3/1
2	2The Predicament (KY)	Rafael Manuel Hernandez	118	Timothy E. Hamm	20/1
3	3Twirling Mamba (KY)	Albin Jimenez	118	John Alexander Ortiz	10/1
4	4Like the King (KY)	Rafael Bejarano	118	Wesley A. Ward	7/2
5	5Kinetic Sky (KY)	Deshawn L. Parker	118	Brad H. Cox	9/2
6	6Pico d'Oro (KY)	John McKee	122	William E. Morey	8/1
7	7Hard Rye Guy (KY)	Chris Landeros	118	Ian R. Wilkes	15/1
8	8Hush of a Storm (NY)	Santiago Gonzalez	118	William E. Morey	10/1
9	9Fort Moultrie (MD)	Rodney A. Prescott	118	J. Reeve McGaughey	20/1
10	10Notable Exception (KY)	Declan Cannon	118	Jack Sisterson	30/1
11	11Catman (KY)	Emmanuel Esquivel	124	Michael J. Maker	15/1
12	12Warrior in Chief (KY)	Robby Albarado	118	Kenneth G. McPeek	8/1
13	13Bakwena (KY)	Rodney A. Prescott	118	Darrin Miller	20/1