Battle of Midway Holds Off Dabster in Native Diver

The three-horse Native Diver Stakes (G3) Nov. 25 at Del Mar may as well have been a match race.

Midway through the 1 1/8-mile dirt test, it became clear Isotherm was overmatched, and Battle of Midway and Dabster, never more than a half-length apart, began their duel to the wire.

Grade 1 winner Battle of Midway, the last-out winner of the Comma to the Top Stakes, was out of the gate best and ran the first quarter-mile in :23.60, but was under pressure from Dabster throughout. The last-out Marathon Stakes Presented by TAA (G2) runner-up put a head in front through a half-mile in :47.93, but Battle of Midway was far from done.

Don Alberto Stable and WinStar Farm's Smart Strike colt never let Dabster and jockey Joe Talamo get away, dug in on the inside, and prevailed by a neck at the wire. Isotherm was not persevered with in the late stages and came in 26 lengths back in third.

"They made us work for it," Prat said after Battle of Midway finished off the distance in 1:50.23. "He does better with a target, but we had a three-horse field today, so what are you going to do? He ran well, though, and got it done."

The Native Diver was Battle of Midway's second straight stakes win but first graded score since his top performance in the 2017 Las Vegas Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1).

"We thought the tactics of Dabster would be to try and get the lead or be right there with us, so it worked out kind of like we thought it would," said winning trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. "They rode a good tactic trying to beat us, but he showed some guts. Sometimes they have to. In the end we were a neck ahead, and that worked out for us."

The Bob Baffert-trained Dabster earned his third straight graded placing—following the Marathon effort and a third in the July 21 San Diego Handicap (G2). In between he had two stakes wins in the Harry F. Brubaker and Los Alamitos Special.

"That was a real horse race," Talamo said. "I just wish I'd come out on the other end of it. Still I'm real proud of my horse. He ran his tail off. He does every time. Even when he gets beat, he runs as hard as he can."

Bred in Kentucky by Thor-Bred Stables, out of the grade 1-winning Concerto mare Rigoletta, Battle of Midway now has more than $1.4 million in earnings and a 7-3-2 record from 14 starts. He was a $410,000 yearling purchase by Fox Hill Farm from Gainesway's consignment to the 2015 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale. 

Video: Native Diver S. (G3)