Nations Pride Rallies to Win Arlington Million

Nations Pride , under a confident ride by William Buick, rallied to a 1 3/4-length victory Aug. 11 in the Arlington Million (G1T) at Colonial Downs, seeing off a small but talented cast of rivals.

The 5-year-old son of Teofilo , a Godolphin homebred, scored his fourth North American victory with the trophy to go alongside those from the 2022 Saratoga Derby Invitational (G1T) and Jockey Club Invitational Derby (G2T) and the 2023 Canadian International (G1T) at Woodbine.

He also is a Group 1 winner in Germany and scored at the Group 3 level in Dubai.

Coming into the Million off a third in the Man o' War Stakes (G2T) at Aqueduct and a second in the Manhattan (GIT) at Saratoga, Buick settled Nations Pride third while charging down the Colonial Downs backstretch. Long shot Sugoi  and jockey Julien Leparoux shot out to a huge lead as they approached the far turn but quickly faded when the stretch run loomed.

Nations Pride willingly took the lead when asked for his run and the only threat was Integration , winner of last year's Virginia Derby (G3T) and the July 13 local prep for the Million. The Quality Road   colt couldn't dent the winner's margin but relegated Ancient Rome  and Talk of the Nation  to third and fourth.

"Look, he was the best horse in the race and we knew that," Buick said of Nations Pride. "Actually, at Saratoga last Friday I got to ride him for a breeze on the Oklahoma track so I knew he was coming here in great form and he really impressed me.

"He's an exciting horse and he's won four Grade I's now. The leader was getting a lot of rope and he was getting it cheap, so I just wanted to have everything covered as well as I could."

Kendrick Carmouche, aboard Integration, agreed the pace and shape of the race influenced the outcome.

"With turf racing, when you see one horse loose on the lead like that you've got to re-adjust. I just had to sit and make my run and I thought he did everything to win the race. I think if it was a bigger field, we would've had a different scenario. He gave me everything. I thought he gave his best effort."

The Million's storied history started in 1981 at then Arlington Park Racecourse in suburban Chicago and offered the first seven-figure Thoroughbred purse.

John Henry put the event on the map with a dramatic, last-stride victory over The Bart  -- a finish that was commemorated in a life-size bronze statue that stood on the balcony overlooking the paddock until Arlington was closed after the 2021 season and later demolished.

With the addition of two other Grade I turf events into the "International Festival of Racing," the Million also helped boost American racing on the international scene. While foreign competition was down for the past two runnings, half of this year's six-horse field had international experience and one, Ancient Rome, shipped from overseas for the event.

"When we came into Virginia (with the purchase of Colonial Downs) it was all about how do we make it world class," Bill Carstanjen, CEO of Churchill Downs Inc., said before calling "Riders Up" for the Million.

Buick gave Carstanjen a vote of confidence in that regard.

"It's a beautiful turf course. This track is world class. The ground is beautiful. It's a very fair track from what I could gather," Buick said. "Obviously there are some very big races here now."

Video: Arlington Million S. (G1T)