Grand Arch holds off The Pizza Man in the Shadwell Turf Mile
Jim and Susan Hill's Grand Arch passed pacesetter Kelinni (IRE) in the stretch and then held on to win in an exciting three-horse finish in the $1,000,000 Shadwell Turf Mile (gr. IT) at Keenland Race Course over a turf course labeled yielding. The race was a “Win & You’re In” event meaning that Grand Arch is assured a spot in the starting gate for the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
Sent off as the 4-1 second choice in a field reduced to twelve with the earlier scratch of War Envoy, Grand Arch who was ridden by Luis Saez for trainer Brian Lynch, found something extra the last 50 yards to hold off the hard charging The Pizza Man on the outside and Tourist on the inside. The margin was a head back to second and another neck back to third. For the 6-year-old gelding by Arch, this was his second straight win after taking the Fourstardave Handicap (gr. IIT) in mid-August. His record now stands at 7-6-6 from 23 career starts, this is his third graded stakes win.
The Pizza Man, who surprisingly went off as the third betting choice, broke cleanly from post position 9, raced near the back of the pack some 8 lengths off the lead, went seven wide turning for home, then closed stoutly to just miss in his prep for the Breeders’ Cup Turf. Tourist also closed well as he made his late bid five wide turning from home, angled to the inside, and was caught at the wire for second. Seek Again ran well to finish fourth while the favorite Dutch Connection finished fifth, three lengths back of the winner.
Luis Saez on the race and the finish said, “He broke well and we got a good position. When we got to the half-mile (pole), I had so much horse (that) I was just waiting for a little room. Thank God when we got to the stretch he got a little room and he kept going. At the end, I saw two horses flying and I thought they were going to beat me, but he’s a fighter. He just kept going”.
Trainer Brian Lynch talked about the race and said “Great to see him, as he gets older, just keep getting better and better. We had this race in mind this year after a game effort last year (second by a length to Wise Dan), and (jockey) Luis (Saez) seems to get along with him fantastic. I was worried about the turf getting a little soft today, but he handled it well. Very exciting finish – makes for a great race.” Asked about the Breeders’ Cup Mile “I would have to think so.”
As for The Pizza Man, and what the race meant to his connections and their Breeders’ Cup plans, Richard Papiese of Midwest Thoroughbreds said, “He ran huge. If there weren’t so many horses across the track, he gets up for the win. For all the folks who may have thought he couldn’t run a mile: Surprise. It's a question of two turns and he could probably run a two-turn race at six furlongs on a small track and run big. I couldn’t be happier. The instructions were 'where he breaks, he breaks'. We wanted a target and we didn't want to be a target. He got more out of this race than you could ever imagine for going into the Breeders' Cup (Turf) and that’s why we ran here instead of any other race. It’s about bigger and better things down the line.”
Grand Arch paid $10.60, $4.80, and $4.20, The Pizza Man returned $5.20, and $3.80, and Tourist returned $6.60 to show. Winning time of the race was 1:37.45 and all horses carried 126 pounds. Completing the order of finish were Seek Again, Dutch Connection, King Kreesa, Kelinni, Jack Milton, Bobby's Kitten, Heart to Heart, and Grand Tito.
The race was marred by the breakdown Skyring, who was pulled up abruptly by jockey Joseph Rocco Jr. on the backstretch, due to a serious injury to his right front fetlock. He was later euthanized.