Clement Eyes Double With Cheetah, Gio Ponti

No trainer in the history of Arlington Park’s International Festival of Racing has ever saddled the winners of the Arlington Million and its sister race the Beverly D. in the same season, but French-born conditioner Christophe Clement would appear to have an excellent choice to accomplish that feat in 2011.

Clement will saddle British-bred Cheetah, owned by Robert Scarborough and a filly that was pegged as the 9-2 in the early line for the Beverly D., and then return to the paddock to saddle Castleton Lyons’ Gio Ponti, installed as the 2-1 second choice in the morning line for the Arlington Million.

TWO TURF CONDITIONS MIDDAY ON ARLINGTON MILLION DAY

 Despite occasional intermittent light showers Friday evening in the northwest Chicago area, the turf course that will be used for Saturday’s Arlington Million, $750,000 Beverly D. and $400,000 Secretariat Stakes was listed as “firm” by track management late Saturday morning. hours in advance of the 29th running of the Arlington Million, 22nd renewal of the $750,000 Beverly D. Stakes and 35th edition of the $400,000 Secretariat Stakes.

 Arlington’s inner turf course, to be employed for the third, fourth and seventh races Saturday afternoon, was listed as “good.”

CRIMSON CHINA SCRATCHED FROM SATURDAY’S SECRETARIAT STAKES

 Team Valor International’s Crimson China, a son of Giant’s Causeway who won Monmouth’s Lamplighter Stakes in May but was seventh in the Grade II Virginia Derby July 16, was a program scratch from Saturday’s Grade I Secretariat Stakes in favor of a run in Saratoga’s Grade II Hall of Fame Stakes on Friday where he finished fifth beaten three lengths at the wire.