WAR FRONT’s Quatrocento went off as the even-money favorite in Saturday’s Appleton S. and quickly showed why with a gate-to-wire three-quarter length victory in the one-mile turf race.
Winning the Tampa Bay S. (G3) last start, Quatrocento broke strongly under Julien Leoparoux and was quickly put into a pacesetting situation. No one in the field mounted a serious challenge early on, letting Quatrocento dictate the pace a few lengths in front of the field.
In mid-turn, that changed with the field closing in, but Quatrocento wasn’t willing to give in. He fought off that first challenge as they reached the stretch with the first horse giving in. Westside Tide wasn’t going to let him have an easy time, however, and came charging late to cut the winner’s margin to three quarters of a length.
Undefeated in his two starts this year, the WAR FRONT 5-year-old trained by Fausto Gutierrez has won six of his 16 starts overall with two other top two finishes for owner-breeder St George Stables.
Quatrocento is out of the stakes winning Huasca, who has produced three winners from three to race.
Her dam is 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.
WAR FRONT continues to be among the best stallions in North America with the highest percentage of Grade 1 winners, Grade 1 horses, graded stakes winners, graded stakes performers, and stakes winners of any North American stallion.