She took an eventful path to get there, but in the end, WAR FRONT’s Bullet punched her ticket to Royal Ascot with a win in the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies Stakes on Saturday. The victory earned her an automatic berth to one of six Royal Ascot juvenile races.
Making her career debut in the five-furlong turf race, her inexperience showed at the break when she broke slowly. That left her over five lengths behind the leader with very little time to make it up, but she had plenty of talent to make up for snafu.
Taken wide by jockey Emisael Jaramillo with just over a quarter mile left to run, the Mark Casse trainee impressed with a big turn of foot that saw her take command with half a furlong left to run. She went on to win by 2 ¼ lengths with WAR OF WILL earning his first stakes placer from his first career starter when My Emmy finished third.
Bred by Gainesway and racing for D.J. Stable, Bullet was purchased for $425,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Bullet is the first runner out of the Tapit mare Marlinspike, a winning daughter of champion Surfside.
That mare also produced Grade 3 winner Irish Surf and stakes-placed Shark. Her daughter’s runners include Group 1 winner Zillzaal and Grade 3 winner and Grade 1-placed High Celebrity. Surfside is the produced of another champion with her dam Flanders named Champion 2-Year-Old Filly in 1994.
Marlinspike foaled another WAR FRONT filly last year as well.
WAR FRONT bred to Tapit mares has quickly become a successful cross in recent years. Of the 12 winners from 14 runners, three are stakes performers with two earning graded stakes wins, led by Grade 1 winner Halladay.