Whatchatalkinabout out-fought Silver Slugger and Surveillance to win a tight three-horse photo in Saturday’s $175,000 John A. Nerud S. (G3) to give the 4-year-old son of Dialed In his first graded stakes win.
The narrow victory came after Whatchatalkinabout and his two foes raced side-by-side for nearly the last half-mile of the six-furlong contest. Whatchatalkinabout had Silver Slugger to his inside and Surveillance to his outside around the turn and down the stretch. Each of the three had the lead at some point in the final furlong, but Whatchatalkinabout got his head in front in the final few strides to win by a head over Silver Slugger, with Surveillance a neck back in third.
The final time on a fast track was an excellent 1:09.03.
“He’s a good horse, talented. He ran a gutsy race. I was proud of him,” trainer Wesley Ward said. “That horse on the inside ran a big one and also the grey horse on the outside [Surveillance] – to be in the middle of those two and for him to gut through it really showed something.”
Bred by Newtown Anner Stud, Whatchatalkinabout banked $96,250 in victory while improving his lifetime record to 7-4-2-1. His prior stakes win came in the New York Breeders’ Futurity last October.
Dialed In, whose progeny have earned more than $54 million lifetime, is the sire of two champions and 10 graded stakes winners.
