Saint Leon Wins Gate to Wire in the Arlington Sprint!

On this gorgeous day in Chicago, seven year old Saint Leon wires the field defeating Breeders’ Cup champions Chamberlain Bridge and Regally Ready in the 2012 Arlington Sprint Handicap!

 

See the post parade video HERE. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Birdie Beats Par)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Chamberlain Bridge) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Saint Leon) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Longhunter)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Regally Ready) 

 

 

There was no twist in the plot of this race as Saint Leon went straight to the lead with pace-setting jockey E.T. Baird. The expected speed of Birdie Beats Par did not hold as he faded throughout the race. Eight year old champion Chamberlain Bridge missed the break entirely right out of the gate.

 

Saint Leon set some pretty fast fractions of :22.1 and :45.3 in this dash for the finish, but his recent form would tell you that he had enough to hang on…and he did just that. At the top of the stretch he had a four length lead over Longhunter, who also tried to hang in. The lead diminished throughout the stretch however as Chamberlain Bridge came out of the clouds to make up for the bad start. However it was Saint Leon who held on to win by half of a length.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Winner!)

 

My other photos for the day can be seen HERE. 

 

I caught up with E.T. Baird after the race and I asked him about whether or not he saw Chamberlain Bridge coming or not. “I heard him” he said!

 

 

 

 

This was a very exciting, yet brief, race and I was so excited to see the local Chicago runner take home the graded stakes! I also spoke with the owners after the race and apparently there is a fascinating story about Saint Leon’s background and journey to the race track. I’ll dig more into that story.