Stronghold rolls to sharp 2 ½ length win as the odds-on favorite in the Grade III Triple Bend Stakes going 7 furlongs Sunday at Santa Anita

STRONGHOLD ROLLS TO SHARP 2 ½ LENGTH WIN AS THE ODDS-ON FAVORITE IN THE GRADE III TRIPLE BEND STAKES GOING 7 FURLONGS SUNDAY AT SANTA ANITA

Trainer Phil D’Amato said next for Stronghold will be either the GII Pat O’Brien going 7 furlongs or the GII San Diego at 1 1/16 miles. Both are at Del Mar this summer.

Arcadia, CA (May 31, 2026) – Grade I winner Stronghold showed he was back in top form Sunday when rolling to a dominant victory as the odds-on favorite in the Grade III, $100,000 Triple Bend Stakes going seven furlongs at Santa Anita.

With jockey Antonio Fresu aboard, Stronghold (1-2) broke in front from the outside post but was soon passed for the lead by Simple Song (6-1) and jockey Kazushi Kimura. Stronghold, who is trained by Phil D’Amato, tracked the pacesetter through fractions of 21.88 and 44.31 seconds, seized the lead at the top of the stretch and was never challenged on his way to a 2 ½ length victory. It was Stronghold’s first stakes win since the 2024 GI Santa Anita Derby.

“When I saw that I had one target, I was never worried.” said Fresu. “I was waiting for the stretch and when I asked him to go, he took off. I love this horse. I have loved him since day one, ever since I started riding him. I’m very grateful and thankful to his owners and Phil for giving me the opportunity to ride him since 2024. It’s been a great journey with him.”

Simple Song, trained by Mark Glatt, finished second by 1 ¼ lengths over Bartholdy (7-1). Checking in fourth was The Goat, a Group I winner from Chile who was making his U.S. debut and first start since December 2024. Ridden by Emisael Jaramillo for trainer John Sadler, The Goat raced up close to the pace down the backstretch, tried to get closer to the leaders near the quarter pole to no avail and then flattened out in the stretch.

Stronghold is a 5-year old horse by Ghostzapper owned and bred by Eric Waller and Sharon Waller. He won in a sharp time of 1:21.36.

“I thought that was pretty sensational, at least going by the time.” D’Amato said. “He acted really sharp going into this race and he broke pretty much on top. Antonio kind of let Kimura (Simple Song) go to the inside of him and just tracked him. At the top of the lane, I felt really good.”

Stronghold improved to 14: 5-7-1 with nearly $1.34 million in earnings. In his only other start this year, which came on April 17 at Oaklawn Park. Stronghold dead-heated for the win in a high-level allowance going 1 1/16 miles.

D’Amato noted the victory now leaves him with many options for Stronghold going forward. “It’s a question of do we want to keep him short and then have our end goal be the Pat O’Brien or go long in the San Diego and then who knows after that.” D’Amato said. “I’m just going to let him tell us in the weeks to come. But those are great options for him. Looking forward to it.”

The Grade II San Diego Stakes is at 1 1/16 mile is on July 18. The Grade II Pat O’Brien is seven furlongs on Aug.29. Both are at Del Mar.

Stronghold paid $3.00, $2.10, and $2.10. Simple Song returned $4.00 and $2.80. Bartholdy, ridden by Tyler Baze for trainer Steve Knapp, Paid $2.40.

Live racing resumes Friday at Santa Anita with a nine-race card starting at 1 p.m.

GRADE III, $100,000 TRIPLE BEND STAKES QUOTES

JOCKEY QUOTES

ANTONIO FRESU, STRONGHOLD, WINNER: “When I saw then entries and I saw I was on the outside, that was a dream. I had like three different plans. This horse is really good,, especially at this moment, Phil is doing a great job. Tony Guitierrez that rides him every day, they have been doing a very good job and I could have done whatever I liked. At the end of the day, he was the best horse in the race. When I saw that I had one target, I was never worried. I was waiting for the stretch and when I asked him to go, he took off. I love this horse. I have loved him since day one, ever since I started riding him. I’m very grateful and thankful to his owners and Phil for giving me the opportunity to ride him since 2024. It’s been a great journey with him.”

TRAINER QUOTES

PHIL D’AMATO, STRONGHOLD, WINNER: “I thought that was pretty sensational, at least going by the time. He acted really sharp going into this race and he broke pretty much on top. Antonio kind of let Kimura (Simple Song) go to the inside of him and just tracked him. At the top of the lane, I felt really good. It’s a question of do we want to keep him short and then have our end goal be the Pat O’Brien or go long in the San Diego and then who knows after that. I’m just going to let him tell us in the weeks to come. But those are great options for him. Looking forward to it.”

OWNER QUOTES

RICK WALLER, STRONGHOLD, OWNER-BREEDER, WINNER: “I’m glad he is back in good form, and we are looking forward to using this win to catapult him into a wonderful summer. There are a lot of options, we might look at the San Diego. And in August there are possibilities to travel to New York for the Forego or Charles Town for the Charles Town Classic. There's just a lot of choices when you have a horse this good.”

NOTES: The winning owner and breeders are Rick and Sharon Waller.