Halladay (WAR FRONT) earned a black type victory Saturday, scoring gate-to-wire in the Sunshine Forever S. at Gulfstream Park for trainer Todd Pletcher and owner Harrell Ventures, LLC.
Setting strong fractions on the turf, Halladay held off closers to win by just over a length, completing the mile and sixteenth in 1:38.66, just over half a second off the track record. Among those defeated were Grade 1 winner El Tormenta, Grade 2 winner Hawkish, and Grade 3 winner Social Paranoia, among other black type challengers.
This was Halladay’s first black type stakes win, increasing his earnings to nearly $300,000. Last winter he won the listed Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream, as well as a pair of black type placings in the English Channel Stakes and Gio Ponti Stakes in the fall.
WAR FRONT’s Halladay was bred by Gainesway Thoroughbreds Ltd. & Winchell Thoroughbreds, LLC out of the mutliple graded stakes-winning Tapit mare, Hightap.
WAR FRONT stands at Claiborne Farm for $250,000, live foal stands and nurses.