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War Pass fell from the ranks of the unbeaten with a stunning last place finish in the Tampa Bay Derby. Previously, Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I) winner War Pass earned the Eclipse Award for champion 2-year old male, as well as topping the 2007 Experimental Free Handicap. War Pass also won the Champagne Stakes (gr. I) in 2007. Anxious to redeem their horse's reputation, War Pass' connections got satisfaction with his gutsy second-place effort in the Wood Memorial (gr. I).

Auction History

Year	Sale	Price
2006	Keeneland September Yearling Sale	$180,000

Racing History

Date	Race Name	Distance	Finish	Earnings
04/05/08	Wood Memorial (gr. I)	9f	2	$150,000
03/15/08	Tampa Bay Derby (gr. III)	8.5f	7	$0
02/24/08	ALW	8f	1	$36,000
10/27/07	Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I)	8.5f	1	$1,080,000
10/06/07	Champagne Stakes (gr. I)	8f	1	$240,200
08/26/07	Allowance/Optional Claiming	6f	1	$40,200
07/28/07	MSW	6f	1	$37,200
Record: 7 Starts, 5-1-0 | Total Earnings: $1,583,400
Race Records provided by equineline.com

By Steve Haskin

Some years you have a 2-year-old champion like Street Sense, who you know will stretch out to classic distances with no problem, and some years you have one like War Pass, who possesses extraordinary speed, runs on the lead, and has a pedigree that is questionable at 11/4 miles.

So, what do you do when it comes time to embark on the Triple Crown trail?

Here you have an undefeated colt who has already won two grade I stakes-the Bessemer Trust Breeders' Cup Juvenile and Champagne Stakes-and has speed figures that are on a different planet than his contemporaries. But how far will his speed and class take him? That's the problem; no one knows for sure.

They questioned how far front-running Seattle Slew could carry his speed, and he was a hot-blooded colt who had a tendency to break out badly before a race. No one is comparing War Pass to Seattle Slew, but until someone beats this colt, he must remain in a class by himself. With his natural speed and class, and his ability to control a race with expending too much energy, it is quite possible War Pass will go into the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) undefeated. But we're getting way ahead of ourselves.

War Pass, another of the many colts owner Robert LaPenta was forced to keep because he was unable to sell him, was purchased by LaPenta's Whitehorse Stables for $180,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale. Trainer Nick Zito understands as much as anyone how precarious the Derby trail can be, especially for a precocious colt like War Pass, who has already had a minor setback, coming down with a case of colic. You can bet Zito will be extra careful with him and give him the best chance possible to stretch out. If he's still undefeated on the first Saturday in May, that's all one can ask for.

By Avalyn Hunter

If speed makes a good horse, then War Pass is a good one, with four front-running wins and a championship to show for four juvenile starts. He will need more than speed to win a Triple Crown race, however; stamina, heart, and a sizable dollop of luck will be needed too.

Luck and heart are often elusive. But when it comes to stamina, War Pass could be anything from a miler to a true 10-furlong horse, depending on which elements in his pedigree are dominant.

The colt's sire, Cherokee Run, is himself an enigma. By Canadian champion Runaway Groom, Cherokee Run won the 1993 Dwyer Stakes (gr. II) at nine furlongs and was second in the Preakness (gr. I). But at 4, wins in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I) and the Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash (gr. II), along with placings in six other graded events at a mile or less, earned him a title as champion sprinter.

Nine furlongs have been the upper limit for Cherokee Run's progeny in graded stakes company. But War Pass will need more than that to win a Triple Crown event. His dam, Vue (by Mr. Prospector), proved speedy but never won going more than 6.5 furlongs in six starts. Aside from War Pass, she is the dam of Oath (by Known Fact), winner of the 1996 Spinaway Stakes (gr. I). War Pass is the only one of her progeny to win at farther than a mile, and Vision of Beauty (by Danzig) was the only one to make as many as 10 starts. The next two dams, Harbor Flag (by Hoist the Flag) and Bayou Blue (by Bold Ruler) were both winners but made only three starts each.

To date, War Pass has done everything asked of him. But to win on the first Saturday in May, he will need to stay farther in stakes company than either his sire or any horse produced by his direct female line since Batteur, a full sister to Bayou Blue. Only time will tell whether he is a precocious miler or a true classic horse.

By Claire Novak

Robert LaPenta, president and co-founder of the Connecticut security company L-1 Identity Solutions, is known as a savvy business dealer. He approaches the Thoroughbred industry with result-producing intelligence, but had little impact on his greatest racetrack success thus far. Instead, LaPenta has fate to thank for the ankle chips that kept 2-year-old champion War Pass from entering the sale ring.

With the unbeaten colt pointing toward the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) under his own colors, LaPenta is hoping the perfect combination of business sense and fortune will catapult them into the winner's circle. He's been close enough to taste that elusive victory before.

Born in Yonkers, N.Y., LaPenta was introduced to Thoroughbred racing by his mother, Nancy. Decades later, he entered the racing industry with a clearly defined goal: to sell and own horses of classic caliber. After a brief partnership in 1998 with University of Louisville basketball coach Rick Pitino, he purchased his first horse (grade I-placed Valiant Halory) and went out on his own in 2001, naming his operation Whitehorse Stable after a Biblical symbol for truth and leadership.

"In the book of Revelation, the white horse represents honesty and the dominance of good over evil," said LaPenta. "It's a superior horse, and we wanted to race superior horses."

At a suggestion from trainer Nick Zito, who conditions LaPenta's runners and selects Whitehorse stock, the businessman entered the auction arena as a yearling pinhooker when he purchased eight hips for a combined $895,000. One of those horses, Zavata, went on to become a grade II winner for eventual owner Michael Tabor. The next year, Pomeroy graduated LaPenta's consignment en route to grade I-winning status for Tabor and Derrick Smith, and later for Silverleaf Farms. Whitehorse was on its way.

Impressed by 2000 Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus, LaPenta purchased a $270,000 yearling from the stallion's first crop. Later named Fusaichi Samurai, that colt set a world record in 2004 when he sold for $4.5 million as a 2-year-old at Fasig-Tipton War Pass, shown winning the Champagne last fall; owner Robert LaPenta anne m. eberhardtFlorida to his sire's owner, Fusao Sekiguchi.

"When I got into the game, people thought I was crazy," said LaPenta. "I set out to prove that with a good plan and good people on your team, you can compete at the highest level."

LaPenta has built his personal racing stable with horses that don't clear auction. He maintains a hard-core policy of selling every horse for the right price, understanding that the best yearlings purchased by his operation will probably end up running for other owners.

"You have to put some business logic into this game, because the odds of a horse becoming great are very long," he said. "Still, it's painful to watch. We're playing Russian Roulette and someday we may shoot ourselves with one of the horses we've sold."

Even this year, LaPenta faces that potential. With his contender en route to the Derby, another possible starter-WinStar Farm's Court Vision-graduated his consignment in 2007. And LaPenta longs to win the Derby with a horse of his own. He's tackled the race twice before, his best result being a fifth-place finish by The Cliff's Edge (a $195,000 buy-back) in 2004. His other starter, Andromeda's Hero, was a $725,000 RNA who finished eighth in 2005. But this year, his best horse to date will tackle the challenge.

"You can never figure how things happen in this game," the owner said. "You could write a book of the things that could go wrong. When the good times come, you just thank the Lord and enjoy the moment."