Arlington Million Hopeful Legendary Blossoming
Walter Swinburn’s Legendary is flourishing as he approaches the biggest race of his career in next Saturday’s Grade I $1,000,000 Arlington Million. Off by design since finishing a game third – beaten less than three lengths – in the Grade I $1,000,000 Manhattan at Belmont on Jun. 6, the son of Exceed and Excel has been training forwardly at his Fair Hill base in Maryland for conditioner Niall Saville. On Aug. 3, the bay 6-year-old worked a flashy six furlongs in 1:12.40 and is expected to have one more work on Sunday, Aug. 9, as a final prep for the 1¼-miles contest.
“It doesn’t worry me not having a prep race,” Saville said. “We always knew where we going to train to the Million. The plan was to have those three races and then if he ran as well as we hoped he would in the Manhattan, we would run him in the Million.
“I don’t worry about running him fresh,” Saville continued. “I think I have him right and everything is going pretty well. As long as he works well on Sunday, we will be there.”
Three weeks prior to his Manhattan effort, in which he was the only forwardly placed horse to finish well, the English-bred gelding was fifth after a horrible start left him 12th of 13 early in the Grade II $300,000 Dixie Stakes at Pimlico. Said effort followed a fourth-place finish in the Grade I $300,000 Maker’s 46 Mile at Keeneland to kick off his campaign on Apr. 10 at a trip shorter than his optimal.
“He also got a little sick after the Manhattan, which made it easier to pass on races like the (Grade III $100,000) Arlington Handicap or (Grade I $500,000) United Nations,” Saville explained. “He does everything very easily and he’s a simple horse to train. We have a system with him and it works well. His (Aug. 3 work) was in company and he just knocked off fractions and galloped out well.
“He’s starting to blossom again and coming into his cycle,” Saville continued. “He really looks the picture and I’m glad to get (jockey Sheldon Russell) back on him. He has a great rapport with (Legendary) and knows the (Arlington) track.”
Hall of Fame rider Edgar Prado rode Legendary in his past two races after regular rider Russell was injured in late spring. Under Russell, who was a top rider at the 2014 Arlington meet, Legendary won the $100,000 Japan Racing Stakes at Laurel and Grade III $200,000 Knickerbocker Stakes at Belmont in succession in the fall of 2014 – the latter over Grade I-winning fellow Million prospect Up With the Birds.
THE CORSICAN REMOVED FROM MILLION CONSIDERATION
Mrs. Fitriani Hay’s The Corsican will not make the trip across the Atlantic from his European base for the Million, according to the International Racing Bureau. The improving son of Galileo who exits a sharp second on July 31 in the Group III $156,000 Glorious Stakes at Goodwood and was fourth in the Group I $822,000 Prince of Wales’s Stakes a race prior did not exit his effort in the former in a fashion pleasing to trainer David Simcock.
The removal of the England-based son of Galileo from the marquee race leaves five Europeans still planning to pre-enter the race. PJL’sBelgian Bill and Godolphin Racing’s Maverick Wave from England, Papillon Stables’ Bookrunner from France, Klaus Allofs and Gestut Fahrhof’s Wake Forest from Germany and Damian Lavelle’s Elleval from Ireland.
SHINING COPPER IN, PUMPKIN RUMBLE OUT OF MILLION
Kenneth and Sarah Ramsey’s Shining Copper will join Chad Brown-trained stablemates Slumber and Big Blue Kitten in the entry box for the Grade I $1,000,000 Arlington Million, according to racing officials. The chestnut son of Aragorn was claimed two starts back for $62,500 by the Ramseys out of a Churchill Downs one-mile turf event.
One race later, Shining Copper was fourth beaten only two lengths by Big Blue Kitten in the Grade I $500,000 United Nations while acting as a rabbit. Now in the care of Brown, Shining Copper spent a great deal of his career with Steve Asmussen before racing just once for Mike Maker last out.
Removed from consideration for the Million is Al and Bill Ulwelling’s Pumpkin Rumble, from the barn of Canterbury Park-based Gary Scherer. A winner last out with an impressive charge in the $100,000 Mystic Lake Mile at that racecourse, the son of English Channel would have been making his Grade I debut.
THE PIZZA MAN TO CROSS-ENDER IN MILLION AND AMERICAN ST. LEGER
According to the Arlington International Racecourse racing office, Midwest Thoroughbreds’ The Pizza Man is to cross-enter in both the Grade I $1,000,000 Arlington Million and Grade III $350,000 American St. Leger. The Roger Brueggemann is more likely to run in the Million, Midwest principal Richard Papiese stated shortly after the son of English Channel won the Grade III $100,000 Stars and Stripes on July 11 at the Chicagoland oval.
Last year, the Illinois-bred fan favorite was a hugely popular winner when taking the American St. Leger over Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock’s defending champion Dandino. In either race, regular rider Florent Geroux is slated to be in the irons.
Source: Arlington Park