Although not on par with famous trilogies like Ali-Frazier, the third meeting between War campaign And Time of trouble Should bring excitement anyway Keeneland April 20 for the $300,000 Ben Ali Stakes (G3).
Last match for both—Essex Handicap (G3) March 23 at Oaklawn Park— both finished well with their five-year-old War Campaign, edging their two-year-old elder by half a length in second place. Don’t threaten victory First mission who pulled away down the ramp.
It was a much different story from the first meeting between the two men, which took place nearly 11 months before the Essex.
Time for Trouble, who had 23 races to his name compared to eight for Operation War when they first met, showed what that experience could bring. Sticking to the pace before taking the lead along the rail in the final 16 miles, Time for Trouble won by a length in an optional allowance at Keeneland on April 20, 2023. War Campaign was never a factor and finished sixth and last.
Since then, Jerry Namy’s homebred has seen steady improvement—he won his next outing, another optional allowance race, this time at Churchill Downs. He also steadily improved as his Equibase Speed index reached a career best (112) in two races in the Tinsel Stakes and a joint second (107) in Essex.
Meanwhile, Jeff Hiles’s Thorndale Stable and Time for Trouble has not raced as much as his rivals since that first meeting and, outside of Essex, has struggled in the team placings, finishing nil better than sixth in three such races.
Time for Trouble will have the advantage on Saturday, starting from the innermost position while War Campaign will break from the outermost position.
Both made just one start at the race’s 1 3/16 mile distance and it was Time for Trouble’s turn to win.
IF YOU ARE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT
Runhappy The 2015 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) winner, will be in Ben Ali as his two sons, both geldings, will aim to cross the finish line first.
Millionaire Smile happily , who will run in 10 of his 12 starts and sixth such race in a row, will be hoping for his first win since last year’s Alysheba Stakes (G2). He finished fifth and sixth in a pair of 3rd graders at the Racetracks & Slots at Fair Grounds to start the year
Meanwhile, another Runhappy gelding, Happy Americans , is also looking to end the dry spell. He hasn’t found the winner’s circle since the Louisiana Stakes (G3) in January 2023.
REMARKABLE
Kingsbarns , winner of the 2023 Louisiana Derby (G2), is in just his third start since last year’s Kentucky Derby (G1). Most recently he won an optional allowance claiming race at Gulfstream Park at the first start of 2024.
After a seventh-place finish in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) and a fourth-place finish in the Challenger Stakes (G3), Repole Stable, Phipps Stable and St. Elias Stable’s Dynamic One eyeing his first graded betting win since 2022.
Item: Ben Ali S. (G3)
KeenelandSaturday, April 20, 2024, Race 9
- Class III
- 1 3/16m
- Dust
- 300,000 USD
- 4 years old and up
- 5:16 pm (local)
