My Birthday! (Oh and Arlington Million Preview Day Too)
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It seems to me like there are a lot of things happening this
July 14th! Not only is it my birthday, but it is my cat Stormy’s
birthday, my sister in law Jolene’s birthday, one of the Dukes of Hazzard guy’s
birthday, and it’s also a holiday in France (Bastille Day)!
In addition to that, it is my second favorite day of the
year to be at Arlington; and that is Arlington Million Preview Day! !
This year the Stars and Stripes was moved to this day as
well to serve as a preview for a brand-spankin’-new stakes race called the
American St. Leger. Whoa!
Let’s take a look at the now FOUR Million-Day preview races
taking place this Saturday.
("Grade 3" by Marcy Leonard! Seriously, check out all of her work!)
Race 6 – The Modesty (preview for the Beverly D.)
This year’s Modesty is chock full of talent and this will be
an excellent race!
- Drawing the rail is She’s All In – winner of the Sixty Sails Handicap this last spring at Hawthorne. She is about to run her longest race of her career and is 2 for 3 lifetime on the grass.
- Another horse with some excellent turf form is this year’s Arlington Matron winner, Upperline. She and jockey James Graham team up again and she is having an excellent 2012 campaign.
- Jockey Julien Leparoux will also be in town and will ride for Tom Proctor on a 6-1 shot called Snow Top Mountain who loves the turf and has graded stakes experience.
- 3-1 morning line favorite Bizzy Caroline has been working out very well and she has 4 wins on the grass.
- Frank Calabrese’s Romacaca shows the only real front end speed in the race and could wire this field.
- Finally, you cannot count out any of Christine Janks’ horses at Arlington and Pathway is no exception.
Wow, what a field!! If this is any indication of what the
Beverly D. will be like, we’re in for a treat!
Race 8 – The American Derby (preview of the Secretariat
Stakes and the second leg of the Mid-America Triple)
This is the return of Silver Max to Arlington Park!
- The only race in which Silver Max failed to hit the board was on a sloppy track at Gulfstream in the Holy Bull earlier this spring. Otherwise this horse has been ON FIRE, winning 5 in a row and 6 of his last 7 including a dominating wire to wire victory in the Arlington Classic back on May 26th. It doesn’t appear that he will be challenged much on the lead and that could be dangerous for the rest of the field.
- Cozzetti, who finished second to Silver Max in the Oliver Stakes at Indiana Downs, gets a second chance at the pace-setter here.
- Daddy Nose Best, who faced quite the fields in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, returns to the turf under Julien Leparoux where he has fared much better in the past. He can also get the distance as well.
- The wild card here is Sachem Spirit. I’m interested to see how he runs from the outside in only his 5th lifetime start.
This will be the biggest test for Silver Max to date,
however in my opinion he wins easy here.
Race 9 – The Arlington Handicap (preview of the Arlington
Million)
Boy would I love to see Mister Marti Gras get this one…
- Barclay Tagg wouldn’t send four-time turf winner Sky Blazer to Arlington for no reason, would he?
- Mister Marti Gras has graded stakes experience and goes out for local trainer Chris Block. He has three lifetime wins on the grass and should contend.
- Proceed Bee has run in this race, and the Arlington Million, before.
- Former Arlington Handicap winner Rahystrada makes his return to Arlington, this time with west coast (now east coast) jockey Joel Rosario on board.
- Morning line favorite Boisterous has seven turf wins and is certainly the class of the field.
- Finally, Nikki’s Sandcastle is a perfect 3 for 3 at Arlington and hasn’t missed the board all year.
Good field for sure, and I still hope Mister Marti Gras gets
this one.
Race 10 – The Stars and Stripes (preview of the American St.
Leger)
The return of Workin For Hops!
- Suntracer, a very good turf horse, has yet to win on Arlington’s turf.
- Last year’s winner Free Fighter was entered for a claim in his last race.
- Joinem has good turf form and was second in the Louisville Handicap back in May.
- Workin For Hops is a classy turf horse who loves Arlington. Should contend here.
- 10 year old Musketier just won a mile and a half turf race in the Singspiel last time out. Could be dangerous here.
I’m not sure what to make of this field, but I’m excited to
see what happens!
There you have it folks, a preview of the great day of
racing to come this Saturday at Arlington!
Rest assured, you will have exclusive Chicago Dark Horse
coverage of all of the happenings. I’ll be quite active on Facebook and Twitter
that day to bring all of the action to you!
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