It was a romp in the Tampa Bay S. (G3) for WAR FRONT’s Quatrocento on Saturday with an easy 3 3/4 -length victory in the 1 1/16-mile turf race.
Going off the race favorite, the Fausto Gutierrez trainee was the first out of the gate and happily set the pace with his ears pricked. He raced comfortably about a length in front down the backstretch with Julien Leparoux keeping him under a tight hold. Win for the Money kept trying to close on the winner, but every time he made a move, Quatrocento countered.
Half-way through the turn, Quatrocento was done playing with the other horses and entered the stretch a few lengths in front. Never feeling the whip, Quatrocento showed a big turn of foot to extend his lead with every stride in the stretch. In the end, he hit the line 3 3/4 lengths in front without ever being asked.
It was the first stakes victory for the St. George Stable homebred, who has five wins in his career for $474,642 in earnings.
Quatrocento is out of the stakes winning Huasca, who has produced three winners from three to race. She is out of a half-sister to the Grade 3 winning Snowdrops, who produced Grade 3 winner and Grade 2-placed Tawhid and the dam of Group 2 winner Aesterius. Another half-sister produced Group 1 winner Tiger Tanaka.
This is the 206th stakes winner and 72nd graded stakes winner for WAR FRONT, who is third among all North American sires by number of stakes winners with the two in front of him having 600 or more runners. WAR FRONT leads all North American sires by percentage of stakes winners, graded stakes winners, graded stakes performers, Grade 1 winners, and Grade 1 stakes performers.