Magicalmeister’s win in the John Battaglia Memorial S. at Turfway Friday night topped off a terrific day for Bodemeister, who also accounted for Santa Anita Park maiden special weight winner Glorious Hour and impressive Aqueduct allowance winner Christmas Sky.
The sire of last year’s Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Always Dreaming and the number one Second-Crop Sire of 2017, Bodemeister is leading all Third-Crop Sires this year with 24 winners to date.
Overlooked by the public while making his first stakes start, 3-year-old Magicalmeister nevertheless ran like a seasoned veteran. Four-wide most of the way, he stalked in fourth until making his move with about three furlongs to run. He overtook Truth Be Tolled in upper stretch, then held off the late-closing Sky Promise to win by a half-length in 1:44.12 for the 1 1/16-miles.
“I had really good position,” said winning jockey John McKee. “He broke alert and then he turned off going into the first turn. Going down the backside he was just kind of cruising, under control. Then in the middle of the turn he started to pick it up and I called on him and, man, all credit to the trainer (James Chapman), he had this horse ready to run.”
The Battaglia Memorial is Magicalmeister’s first stakes win. He broke his maiden in his Jan. 9 debut and now has two wins and a third in three career starts. His share of the $75,000 Battaglia purse boosted his earnings to $59,010 for co-owners Christopher Meyer, Stanley Uragami and Chapman.
The Battaglia is the local prep for the $200,000 Jeff Ruby S. (G3), formerly known as the Spiral, which runs on March 17.
