Triple Crown Trail: Great White disrupts Battaglia
15-1 outsider earns 20 Kentucky Derby points
The Biz- February 22, 2026
Great White posted the biggest win of his young career on Feb. 21, capturing the $175,000 John Battaglia Memorial Stakes at Turfway Park with a determined drive to earn 20 Kentucky Derby qualifying points and move into a tie for 10th in the standings.
The gray gelding broke under Alex Achard from post 8 to settle comfortably in third place, while favorite Street Beast set the pace by fractions of :23.88 and :48.84. Great White ran three wide into the far corner before hitting the front with five sixteenths to go. He opened up a clear advantage turning for home but dug in late to hold off a fast-closing Full effort by a neck in a final time of 1:46.83 for 1 1/16 miles over the fast all-weather terrain.
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Full effort, 10e after half a mile he swung widest of all into the stretch and rallied bravely, but lost ground and earned 10 Derby points. Longshot Maximus Prime (88-1) finished third after waiting for space and a rally between horses to collect 6 points, while Baytown Dreamer (7 points total), trailing 112-1, was fourth after keeping the pace and 17-1 Steel Imperium (2 points) rounded out the top five.
Great White, trained by John Ennis for himself and Three Chimneys Farm, is now 2-for-3 for life with earnings of $165,932. The son of Volatile won his debut but finished fifth in the Leonatus Stakes on January 17.
Great White was dismissed at 15.16-1, returning $32.32 to win and playing an 8-11 exacta worth $129.34 for a two dollar bet. With three long shots, the superfecta paid $4,705 for a dime.
KENTUCKY DERBY POINTS TOP 10
| RANK | HORSE | OWNER | TRAINER | POINTS |
| 1 | Paladin | Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, Derrick Smith, Peter M. Brant, Brook T. Smith & Summer Wind Equine LLC | Chad Brown | 60 |
| 2 | Chip Honcho | Leland Ackerley Racing LLC | Steven M. Asmussen | 39 |
| 3 | Golden Age | Phipps Stable (Daisy Phipps Pulito) & St. Elias Stable (Vincent Viola) | Cherie DeVaux | 35 |
| 4 | Silent tactics | John C. Oxley | Mark E. Casse | 25 |
| 5 | Defector | Robert & Lawana L. Row & Repole Stable (Mike Repole) | Todd A. Pletcher | 25 |
| 6 | Fearless | Dutch Girl Holdings LLC and Irving Ventures LLC | Jeff Mullins | 23 |
| 7 | Plutarch | Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor & Derrick Smith | Bob Baffert | 23 |
| 8 | Universe | 4G Racing LLC (Brent Gasaway), Gregg Day, Steven Crain and Magdalena Racing (Sherri McPeek) | Kenneth G. McPeek | 23 |
| 9 | Almost | Centennial Farms (Donald Little) | Todd A. Pletcher | 20 |
| 10 | Talk to me Jimmy | SEI Thoroughbreds and Rudy R. Rodriguez | Rudy Rodriguez | 20 |
| 11 | Great White | Three Chimneys Farm and John Ennis | Johannes Ennis | 20 |
KENTUCKY DERBY POINTS RACES REPEAT
(Click on each line to see the repeat)
- Smarty Jones S. – Strategic risk
- Jerome S. – My world
- Lecomte S. – Golden Time
- Southwest S. – Silent tactics
- Holy Bull S. – Almost
- Robert B. Lewis S. – Plutarch
- Withers S. – Talk to me, Jimmy
- Sam F. Davis S. – Defector
- UAE 2000 Guineas – Six gears
- Risen star S. – Paladin
- John Battaglia Monument S. – Great white
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