Battle of Liege leads the charge in Patton Stakes

The stakes will be high when the European Road to the Kentucky Derby resumes Friday, with the Patton S. at Dundalk in Ireland.

Ten horses are set to negotiate a mile on Polytrack, with the hefty prize of 20 Kentucky Derby (G1) qualification points awaiting the winner. Four of the entrants are nominated to the Triple Crown, led by the beautifully bred #1 Battle of Liege.

Conditioned by Aidan O’Brien, who has won four of the Patton’s seven editions, Battle of Liege is a full brother to Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) winner Hit It a Bomb and Cheveley Park (G1) winner Brave Anna. Although Battle of Liege was beaten in his debut on grass at Naas, he took a step forward when he switched to the synthetic track at Chelmsford, where he rallied to win a 7-furlong dash by just less than a length.

In terms of Racing Post Ratings, Battle of Liege will need to up his game to compete against tougher competition in the Patton. His own Triple Crown-nominated stablemates, #6 King of Athens and #7 New World Tapestry, loom as formidable opponents.

King of Athens was beaten in his first four starts on grass, but like Battle of Liege, he showed improvement when switched to synthetic. He led all the way to dominate a 7-furlong event at Lingfield by five lengths. A son of War Front, produced by Fillies’ Mile (G1) winner Together Forever (a daughter of strong stamina influence Galileo), King of Athens should appreciate the chance to stretch out over a mile in the Patton.

The same can be said for New World Tapestry, who is bred on the same War Front/Galileo cross. Produced by Tapestry, winner of the 1 1/2-mile Yorkshire Oaks (G1), New World Tapestry broke his maiden over the turf course at Newmarket but faltered when he tried synthetic in the Vertem Futurity Trophy (G1) at Newcastle, where he weakened to finish eighth after he vied for the lead. Was the competition too tough for New World Tapestry, or was he showing a disdain for the synthetic footing? That's a key question for handicappers to ponder.

The final Triple Crown nominee in the Patton field is the Australian-bred #2 Choice of Mine, trained by former jockey Joseph O’Brien. Similar to Battle of Liege, Choice of Mine brings modest Racing Post Ratings to the equation. He went 1-for-2 to open his career, but Choice of Mine scored his lone victory going a mile at Dundalk, which gives him a familiarity with the course and distance of the Patton.

Joseph O’Brien has also entered #3 Crossfirehurricane, who is 2-for-2, with victories on turf at Limerick and on Polytrack at Dundalk. #10 Orchid Gardens and #4 Dutch Admiral, maidens who finished second and fourth behind Crossfirehurricane at Dundalk three weeks ago, will seek a rematch with a step up in class.

Completing the field are the group stakes-experienced duo of #5 Howling Wolf and #9 In the Present, plus maiden #8 Wonder Elzaam, who finished fourth over this course and distance Jan. 31.

The Patton is the fifth race of the day at Dundalk, with post time scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.