The Lieutenant Justifies Favoritism, Takes G3 All American

BERKELEY, CA – Mr. and Mrs. William K. Warren, Jr.’s The Lieutenant showed shades of his Triple Crown-contending half-brother Justify on Monday, using a strong turn of foot to surge late and win the Grade 3, $100,000 All American Stakes at Golden Gate Fields.

Breaking cleanly from post 3 under Tyler Conner as the lukewarm 3-1 favorite, The Lieutenant was unhurried early and settled in mid-pack as My Friend Emma set initial splits of :23.07, :46.36, and 1:10.78. As My Friend Emma began to clear away off of the far turn, Conner had to move The Lieutenant past tiring traffic before giving him the signal to play catch-up. Once he was shifted out into the clear, The Lieutenant began driving strongly to the front. Passing My Friend Emma along the outside in the final stages, The Lieutenant continued strongly through the wire to win by a length in a final time of 1:36.60 for the mile-long event over the synthetic surface.

“The pace definitely helped me,” Conner said. “Once I got him clear, he rolled home. He kicked on really well.”

My Friend Emma had to hold off a similarly strong rally from Grecian Fire and Perfectly Majestic in order to take second by a nose and a head, consecutively. Taima the Hawk took fifth over Ritzy A. P., with Force, Conquest Cobra, Castle, and Many Roses completing the order of finish.

The Lieutenant’s win was his first career graded stakes score in his fourth attempt, with his previous best being a third last out in the Grade 2 Californian Stakes at Santa Anita. The Michael McCarthy-trained 5-year-old son of Street Sense, out of the Ghostzapper mare Stage Magic that also produced Justify, improved his overall record to 12-4-1-1 with career earnings of $209,537.

The Lieutenant returned $7.80 to win, $4.20 to place, and $3.40 to show. My Friend Emma brought back $4.40 to place and $3.60 to show, while Grecian Fire paid $6.40 to show.