(Batten Down Sets Track Record at Churchill Downs on Saturday / All Photos by Coady Media)

From the Churchill Downs Media Team / Kevin Kerstein:

BATTEN DOWN BRILLIANT IN BOURBON TRAIL WHILE SETTING NEW TRACK RECORD

Juddmonte’s Batten Down broke sharply and never looked back, cruising to an easy 5 ¾-length victory in Saturday’s $287,500 Bourbon Flight at Churchill Downs, setting a new track record in the process.

Ridden by Junior Alvarado and trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the 3-year-old colt covered the 1 3/16 miles in a final time of 1:54.66, crushing the previous record of 1:55.97 set by Idol in 2020.

Batten Down inherited the lead early of the Bourbon Flight, setting a solid pace of :23.19 for the opening quarter-mile while Next Level tracked to his inside and Hades raced just behind them in third. As the field navigated the first turn, Batten Down maintained a narrow advantage over Next Level, clocking a half-mile in :47.07.

Into the far turn, Batten Down began to extend his lead, opening up by two lengths with Alvarado still motionless in the saddle. At the top of the stretch, Alvarado geared down his mount, allowing Batten Down to cruise home unchallenged for the decisive win.

Sent off as the 1-2 favorite, Batten Down returned mutuel prices of $3.06, $2.30, and $2.10. Hades, under Luis Saez, finished second and paid $3.18 and $2.56. Elephants Ear, with jockey Colby Hernandezaboard, finished third and returned $3.32.

“He’s still trying to figure things out and I think will continue to get better with age,” Alvarado said. “We went a little fast early in the race but he was doing things very comfortably. I could tell I had a lot of horse when we turned for home, and he just cruised down the stretch.”

With this victory, the regally-bred son of Tapit out of multiple Grade I winner Close Hatches, improved his record to 8-3-1-2, with career earnings now totaling $688,300.

 

Mugatu finished in fourth followed by Next Level and Real Macho.

BOURBON TRAIL QUOTES:

Junior Alvarado, jockey, Batten Down, winner: “He’s still trying to figure things out and I think will continue to get better with age. We went a little fast early in the race but he was doing things very comfortably. I could tell I had a lot of horse when we turned for home, and he just cruised down the stretch.”

Kenny McCarthy, assistant trainer, Batten Down, winner: “This horse is an incredibly bred horse from Juddmonte being by Tapit out of Close Hatches. He’s run two very impressive races here at Churchill Downs, once when he broke his maiden back in the spring and now in this race today. He ran well this summer against some of the top 3-year-olds and will continue to improve with more seasoning. We’re looking forward to seeing more performances like this in the future.”