Globetrotting Mendelssohn finds class relief in the Cigar Mile

It was just over a year ago when a 50-1 shot donning blinkers for the first time ran a big race to be second in the Group 1 Darley Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket. A half-brother to the great mare Beholder, Mendelssohn certainly had the pedigree to be a good one for trainer Aidan O'Brien and owners Michael B. Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier, and Derrick Smith, but the handsome young colt had not yet put it all together. His performance that day was not only an indication of his talent, but it propelled him on a racing odyssey that will continue this Saturday when he headlines the Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct.

Newmarket and the Big A are worlds apart, but for Mendelssohn it will be business as usual. Since that coming out party in England, the son of Scat Daddy has been put to the test at racetracks across the globe. He's competed in two editions of the Breeders' Cup and has won races in America, Ireland and Dubai. Still, when he enters the starting gate this weekend, he will have something to prove, having been defeated in his last five starts. 

Despite its Grade 1 status, the Cigar Mile will represent both a cutback in distance and in class for Mendelssohn. After that strong run in the Dewhurst, the $3 million yearling purchase won at the highest level in his very next start when he scored a decisive victory in a strong edition of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar in Southern California. That win was also just the beginning of a globetrotting schedule which most recently saw him back in the Breeders' Cup.

This time it was in Louisville, Ky., for the Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs. It proved to be another strong performance for him, albeit in a losing one. In the Classic, Mendelssohn went right to the lead, as he usually does, and carved out testing early fractions of 22.68, 46.46, 1:10.61 and the mile in 1:35.90, in the 10-furlong affair. He was passed early in the stretch by the ultimate winner, Accelerate, but the speedy 3-year-old never quit trying, and at the wire was only beaten four lengths.

The performance was much like his previous one, when he prompted a torrid pace and was still only beaten two lengths in New York's prestigious Jockey Club Gold Cup. Both of those races were at 1 1/4 miles and proved a little bit too much for the O'Brien charge. However, they clearly demonstrated how he can get back to his winning ways in the Cigar Mile, having been hounded by top horses past a mile, before ultimately succumbing in the final quarter mile or less.

There will be no Accelerates or Thunder Snows in this one, replaced by the likes of Copper Town, No Dozing and Sunny Ridge, so the Cigar Mile sets up as a winnable race for Mendelssohn, but it's a bit of a surprise that the valuable colt is even running.

Before the Breeders' Cup Classic, Coolmore included Mendelssohn on its 2019 list of American stallions, with a price to be determined after his official retirement. It appeared the Classic might well be his swan song, but here he is ready to dance another dance. 

Earlier this year, Mendelssohn began 2018 with a pair of wins. The first came on a synthetic surface at Dundalk in Ireland, but it was in his next where he gained even more international respect than he had gained in winning at the Breeders' Cup.

The dismantling of the field in the rich UAE Derby in Dubai set him forth to the United States as one of the most exciting of the Kentucky Derby prospects in a race full of exciting prospects. Banged around and eased in a sloppy edition of the "Run for the Roses," Mendelssohn has come back solidly after that forgettable run under the Twin Spires.

In fact, he's run very well. Looking like a horse who just needs to find his spot, Mendelssohn has finished third in the Dwyer (G3), second in the Travers (G1), third in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) and fifth in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) since the first Saturday in May. 

Will Saturday's Cigar Mile be that winning spot for the globetrotting colt? If class is any indication, the answer will be yes. Mendelssohn has simply been keeping much better company than he will find in Aqueduct's signature race of the fall.

A win here would push him forward to a likely go in January's Pegasus World Cup which, of course, would be a much tougher test. And from there, the breeding shed likely awaits, but even that is not a done deal, because if he can win the Cigar Mile anything like he did in the UAE Derby, it may be worth putting retirement plans on hold.