War Pass wires Juvenile

War Pass proved the sloppy ground held no trouble for him (Alex Evers/Horsephotos.com)

Robert V. LaPenta’s WAR PASS (Cherokee Run) sprinted to the lead out of his 2
post and was never challenged en route to an easy 4 3/4-length victory in Saturday’s
$1,832,000 Breeders’ Cup
Juvenile (G1) at Monmouth Park. With Cornelio Velasquez sitting chilly on his
back, the Nick Zito-trained dark bay posted splits of :22 3/5, :45 2/5, 1:09 3/5
and 1:35 3/5 before finishing 1 1/16 miles over the sloppy, sealed dirt in 1:42 3/5.

“Wonderful horse, this is great,” Zito said. “I never had an anxious
moment. We did it exactly the way we said we would. He was just on the
edge of 1:09 (for three-quarters), but no matter what, that’s fast. He
just kept going.”

War Pass paid out $6.40, $3.80 and $2.80 while keying the $25.20 exacta as
the 2-1 favorite. Pyro
(Pulpit) was the only rival to come even close to threatening War Pass,
splitting horses around the turn and charging late under Shaun Bridgmohan after
acting up a bit in the gate. As the 4-1 second choice he gave back $4.60 and $3.60 for being 12 lengths
better than stablemate Kodiak Kowboy (Posse), who filled the third spot,
returned $6.40
and ended the $73 trifecta ($1) at 11-1.

“They’re both really good horses,” trainer Steve Asmussen said of his
two charges who filled the second and third spots. “The Breeders’ Cup
was a great opportunity for them. (War Pass) beat us three times in a
row now. As for future plans, this is what they were pointed for.
They’ll get a break.”

The effort was even more impressive for Pyro, who Bridgmohan claimed
never got into the track.

“It was a huge effort, and he didn’t even handle the track,” the
rider said. “He was spinning his wheels early. He never got the traction
he needed but still got second. The sky is the limit for this horse. I’m
confident we’ll get even down the road.”