American adventure pays off for Nations Pride with Saratoga Derby success

Saturday: Saratoga

Charlie Appleby was confident a repeat performance of Nations Pride's Belmont Derby second would make the colt hard to beat in the Caesars Saratoga Derby and so it proved as William Buick's awareness helped the son of Teofilo score in the United States for the first time.

The Godolphin-owned colt had proved himself on the international stage when landing the Jumeirah Derby at Meydan on his first start as a three-year-old and was sent off 12-5 favourite for the Belmont Derby last month.

However, Nations Pride was never close enough to the pace there having missed the break under Frankie Dettori and did well to finish just under a length behind Classic Causeway.

Buick was back on board Nations Pride for the first time since finishing eighth on him in the Derby at Epsom. When Classic Causeway again attempted to make all, he was wise to it and, in what proved to be a race-winning manoeuvre, aggressively moved to the front just under a furlong out.

Nations Pride stuck to the task well to deny the staying-on Annapolis. Classic Causeway faded into third.

"I saw him [Annapolis] in the corner of my eye," said Buick. "All I had to do was keep my horse doing his job. You never know until you pass the wire, but I was quite happy with the way he was running throughout the race."

The Aidan O'Brien-trained Stone Age was fifth, while Royal Patronage, formerly trained by Mark and Charlie Johnston, finished sixth on his first start for Graham Motion.

Reflecting on Nations Pride's two runs in the US, Appleby said: "I don't get frustrated. You move on and go on to the next one. I came into this one confident, for sure.

"This horse is a very good mover and he stays. We felt he was the right horse to come to America in the spring. We had to let him take his chance in the English Derby; there is only one, and we want to have runners in it."

Life is good for Pletcher

Despite having to settle for second in the Saratoga Derby, Todd Pletcher had plenty of cause for celebration as stable star Life Is Good took the Grade 1 Whitney Stakes under Irad Ortiz.

The prolific four-year-old was beaten for only the second time in his career in the Dubai World Cup in March but has regained the winning thread, with victory at Saratoga following up a Grade 2 success at Belmont last month.

Saratoga had been the scene of Life Is Good's only defeat on home soil in last year's H Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes, but the colt made no mistake here to take the $1.2 million contest by two lengths from stablemate Happy Saver.

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