Bergamasco upstages favorites in Patton Race on European Road

Mar 01, 2024 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

Bergamasco was the outsider in a three-runner Patton Race at Dundalk on Friday, but the Jack Davison pupil upstaged his rivals trained by Aidan O’Brien and son Joseph on the European Road to the Kentucky Derby.

The first plot twist came before the race, when expected favorite Henry Adams scratched. His stablemate from the Aidan O’Brien yard, Navy Seal, seamlessly inherited the mantle of odds-on favoritism. Joseph O’Brien’s Nerano was also well backed as the second choice, in an affair that stacked up on paper as virtually an intramural for the family.

As the old adage says, that’s why they run the race. The fancied runners ended up taking each other on early, and the Patton unfolded to suit Bergamasco best of all.

Nerano broke fastest from the gate and found himself in front in the opening strides. Navy Seal, who was off a beat slow on the inside, moved up to match strides and gained a narrow lead. Meanwhile, Bergamasco was perched in a tracking third, in an ideal set-up.

Making the left-handed turn and straightening up down the stretch, Navy Seal was under pressure, and not finding enough in this return from a four-month layoff. While Nerano was traveling better alongside the favorite, Bergamasco was just cruising as jockey Ronan Whelan steered him to the outside.

A 10-1 shot abroad, the gelded son of Cappella Sansevero drove past Nerano and Navy Seal to prevail by 1 3/4 lengths. Bergamasco, who paid $14 stateside, negotiated the mile on Polytrack in 1:39.83. Nerano outfinished Navy Seal by three-quarters of a length for second.

🏆 A nice performance from the @JackJdavisond-trained Bergamasco who lands the feature Patton Race at @DundalkStadium pic.twitter.com/7KNCqkNd9N

— Horse Racing Ireland (@HRIRacing) March 1, 2024

While the Patton is worth 20 points to the winner and 10 points to the runner-up on the European Road, Bergamasco and Nerano are not nominated to the Triple Crown.

Triple Crown nominee Navy Seal picked up six points for trailing in last, giving him a total of eight. He now has more points than stablemate Henry Adams, the only other European-based nominee on the leaderboard with two points.

It remains to be seen if the master of Ballydoyle pursues the UAE Derby (G2) on Dubai World Cup night with either of them. Navy Seal had also been beaten in his career debut last summer before improving to win second time out, so he stands to benefit fitness-wise from his Patton outing.

The JPD Partnership’s Bergamasco doesn’t necessarily have the profile of an American classic hopeful, but he’s a battle-hardened veteran with a mark of 9-3-0-2. The Irish-bred bay is out of a Kentucky-bred daughter of Speightstown, Passified Lady, who also produced Group 3-placed sprinter Burning Cash. Passified Lady is herself out of Passified, the winner of the 2008 San Clemente H. (G2) and three other stakes on the Southern California turf.

The European Road concludes with the Cardinal Conditions at Chelmsford on April 6.