Platinum Warrior, True Valour Spring SA Turf Upsets

The graded turf races at Santa Anita Park Feb. 9 had a distinct European flavor.

Not only were both winners bred in Ireland, both victorious jockeys hail from Europe and secured their first local victories of the Santa Anita season.

And both wins came at a price.

Yuesheng Zhang's Platinum Warrior capped the stakes action at Santa Anita with a three-quarter-length score in the $200,000 San Marcos Stakes (G2T) under Irish jockey Shane Foley.

The John Sadler-trained 4-year-old Galileo colt, who hadn't made much of a splash in four U.S. starts, pulled himself into contention in the backstretch of the 1 1/4-mile grass test to challenge early leader Roman Rosso, took the lead in the second turn, opened up a 2 1/2-length advantage with a furlong to run, and just held off a closing Epical.

"It was well worth the travel from Ireland for this win," said Foley, who rode Platinum Warrior three times in Ireland, including a score in the Airlie Stud Gallinule Stakes (G3) when the colt was trained by Michael Halford. "I let him go—let him dictate it. I knew his speed was his main attribute. Being on the front end turning into the straight was a bit daunting, but I just had to play him at his strengths, and I knew if we turned it into a sprint, he'd sprint away."

Sadler said Platinum Warrior could head overseas to race in Dubai in March or stay home to run in the March 23 San Luis Rey Stakes (G2T) at Santa Anita.

Earlier in the card, True Valour, also a group 3 winner in Ireland before he moved to trainer Simon Callaghan's barn in California in 2018, provided an 11-1 upset win in the $100,000 Thunder Road Stakes (G3T) under a heady ride from Italian jockey Andrea Atzeni. It was Atzeni's first victory at Santa Anita since he moved his tack to Southern California late in 2018.

From the middle of the second turn to the late stages of the stretch run in the one-mile grass test, Atzeni kept odds-on favorite River Boyne—who appeared loaded to make a run—locked in behind leaders Le Ken and Ohio.

With the favorite—who had to steady under jockey Flavien Prat when he tried to split the horses in front of him—boxed in, True Valour just got by Ohio late to win by a half-length.

"Obviously, I was keeping an eye on Flavien on River Boyne—obviously the horse to beat," Atzeni said. "(True Valour) picked up when I picked my stick up and was always good enough to win."

After he steadied, River Boyne could not recover and finished fourth behind Le Ken.

"I was going for a hole and it closed right away," Prat said. "I probably should have stayed on the fence."

Video: Thunder Road S. (G3T)

Video: San Marcos S. (G2T)