The rains came – boy did they ever. From Saratoga to Woodbine, torrential downpours and brief storms pummeled the tracks.
Here, it was so welcomed and while the first ever race of this season was taken off the turf, the Flaming Page overnight stakes race, the turf course surely enjoyed the deluge.
LUIS CONTRERAS in the rain at Woodbine. Super image by Mr Will Wong.
MURRAY SMITH, CHRISTOPHER CHOP and KATHARIN VON GAVEL lead in their filly HOPPING NOT HOPING after the Shady Well Stakes. Barb Minshall is the proud trainer.
HOPPING NOT HOPING also enjoyed the grass with a bit of ‘give’ to it as she won the Shady Well Stakes for owners Murray Smith, Christoper Chopa nd Katharin Von Gavel as a 15 to 1 longshot.
The Silent Name (Jpn) – Delray Beach by Harlan’s Holiday filly, bred by Roger Fortier and raised and sold by Bonnie Rowntree, powered late through the grass to win over Nerve Line, a Marchfield filly in a time of 1:20.44 god for a 60 Beyer Figure.
Barbara Minshall trains the 2-year-old and she also had another winner on the card when OBEAH WOMAN won an allowance race for Minshall Farms.
The Shady Well was also the first stakes win for 23-year-old rider Jeffrey Alderson, who has blossomed into one of the circuit’s top riders.
Trainer Roger Attfield won a pair of races – the Flaming Page with GOODYEARFORROSES and a maiden 2-year-old filly race with beginner GHOSTLY PRESENCE, a Chiefswood Stable homebred by Ghostzapper who crushed her rivals and won by 8 lengths in 1:10.90, a 67 Beyer Figure.
The fastest race of the day was the 91 put up by TOUCH OF DISNEY who won an allowance race for Ontario sired fellows. The son of Mr Scotty, trained by Norm McKnight, sped 6 1/2 furlongs in 1:15.92.
GHOSTLY PRESENCE is indeed that in the rain – Mr Will Wong photo
In Chicago, a packed card of turf events was highlighted by the ARLINGTON MILLION and it was a friend of Woodbine, MONDIALISTE, who rallied to win at 4 to 1.
Geoff and Sandra Turnbull’s globetrotting 6-year-old proved he was more than just a miler when producing a stout rally down the outside in the stretch to post a neck win in Saturday’s Grade I $1,000,000 Arlington Million at Arlington International Racecourse. The Million served as a “Win and You’re In” race for the $4,000,000 Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf.
Settled in midpack off pacesetter Take the Stand (ARG), who set modest splits of 25.56, 49.74 and 1:14.14, the son of Galileo (IRE) angled out nearing the top of the stretch and was able to outkick his foes in the final yards of the 1¼-miles turf event, turning away a late challenge fromKasaqui (ARG), who finished gamely up the rail, a neck in front of third-place finisher Deauville (IRE).
Ridden by Daniel Tudhope for trainer David O’Meara, Mondialiste tallied the second Grade I win of his career in the Million. He posted his first tally in such an event in his first North American start last year in the Grade I Woodbine Mile before finishing a game second behind Eclipse Champion Tepin in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Mile. Winless in three starts this season, he turned in an improved effort in last month’s Group II Sky Bet York Stakes at York in advance of his Million triumph.
“We went over the race so many times beforehand, but you just don’t know how it’s going to go, but we couldn’t have asked for a better run, really it was perfect,” Tudhope said. “He seems to love it over here and he thrives over here.”
“We stepped him up to a mile and a quarter at York and he ran a really good race, and once we saw that he handled the trip okay, we had this race in the back of our mind,” O’Meara added. “We thought we’d bring him over because he performed so well this side of the water last year.”
