Arlington Diaries: An International Morning

The Arlington Million is the crown jewel of Saturday’s International Festival of Racing, Chicago’s biggest day of racing every year, at Arlington Park. Horses and their human connections arrive in the Windy City for four huge stakes races; not only are fame and fortune on the line, but the Beverly D. Stakes and the Arlington Million are both Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series races. That means the winners of each of those races will earn a spot at the World Championships of horse racing held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. this fall. The Arlington Million victor gets a berth to the Breeders’ Cup Turf, while the winner of the Beverly D. will head to the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.
With so much on the line, it’s no surprise that some of the world’s top Thoroughbreds have gathered at Arlington Park to duke it out tomorrow. Since I can’t resist a good horse race, I chased the ponies to Chicago and arrived on Thursday night. After staying up until the ripe hour of about 9:30 p.m. CT, I awoke fresh and ready to go this morning and got to the track at about 6 a.m. in the hopes of spotting as many contenders for the International Festival of Racing as possible.
Since there are so many horses here for the various stakes being run Saturday afternoon, I’ll organize the Thoroughbreds I spotted by their chosen races: the American St. Leger, the Secretariat Stakes, the Beverly D. Stakes and the Arlington Million. Ready? Let’s hit it!

The American St. Leger is a grass race for horses three years old and older running 1 11/16 miles contending for a purse of $350,000. This year’s edition has attracted 11 entrants, and I’ll share my thoughts on the ones I spotted today below.
Lucky Speed was one of the first St. Leger runners I spotted this morning, and I was impressed by his calm focus as he took a lap around the track.

Panama Hat is definitely the buzz horse in the St. Leger, and I can see why. He’s an athletic, racey-looking horse, and he was practically pulling his exercise rider’s arms off when he went for his gallop this morning.

I loved the look of Hyper as he went around the Arlington track today; he looked so alert, but was completely workmanlike in his training. He definitely interests me in this big field.

Az Ridge is an X-factor in the St. Leger. He’s a betting longshot, and while anyone can win this race, he seemed a little sweaty and worked up to me.

Highball was another horse who got quite lathered up this morning. While it was definitely humid out, the majority of horses on the track weren’t nearly as sweaty as these two. However, horses (much like people) can react to temperatures differently, and I quite liked the way that Highball moved over the racetrack today.

I only saw three Secretariat Stakes runners today; however, that’s not a terrible percentage considering that there are seven slated to run in the 1 1/4-mile turf test for three-year-olds!
I was blown away by War Dispatch; he looked so athletic as he galloped, and I think he could be the horse to beat in Saturday’s event.

Goldstream is a fascinating horse in this race. He’s the Italian Derby winner and undefeated in his five lifetime starts. However, he’s never faced a field quite as talented as this year’s Secretariat Stakes, so it’ll be interesting to see how he fares on Saturday.

Crittenden is going to be a tough cookie in the Secretariat. He’s coming off of a very narrow defeat here at Arlington in his last start in the American Derby, and he looked on his toes and was pulling at his rider this morning as he galloped. He’s another one that intrigues me for the Secretariat.

The Beverly D. is an especially interesting race this year. With ten fillies and mares hailing from four different nations set to face off over a mile and three sixteenths for a $700,000 purse, this test is going to be a tough one.
The first Beverly D. contender I spotted was Lacy. She’s a German-bred filly but has run in Italy and France as well as on her native soil. This is her first start in America; and Lacy seemed eager to get going, as she was pulling her very determined-looking rider around the racetrack like he was a water skier.

Lots o’ Lex is one of the longer shots in the race, but she’s clearly beloved by the people who spend time around her every day. Before she started her jaunt around the racetrack this morning, she spent some time standing by the winner’s circle and soaking up some attention from her rider.

While Lots o’ Lex has a tough task ahead of her in the Beverly D, I was very impressed with her movement as she jogged past me. She has huge reach in her stride, which will come in handy going almost a mile and a quarter tomorrow.

Wedding Vow is an Irish invader, and she looked tremendously strong this morning. Her rider was trying to hold her to a slow gallop, but Wedding Vow was having none of it. She swept by me like a force of nature this morning, and I am riveted to see how she runs tomorrow with that kind of energy.

Secret Gesture hails from Great Britain, and I have a feeling that she might be a horse to be reckoned with in the Beverly D. She floated over the Arlington surface this morning, and she looks fantastic. Bred to run on the grass and go the distance, Secret Gesture has already earned nearly $700,000 in her career. Keep an eye on her tomorrow.

Mango Diva is also a traveller; although she’s put in a few races on American turf, she’s also run in Ireland as well as in her native England. I was chatting with my friends Nicolle and Melissa about Mango Diva, and apparently the three of us must have been fangirling a little bit, because her rider turned to look at us with a totally bemused look on her face.

I regret nothing: Mango Diva has a glorious silver tail and I am obsessed with it. She’s stunning! She’s also a very athletic mare, and I may have to put a little money on her tomorrow. It doesn’t hurt that my mom has a very diva-like Jack Russell Terrier named Mango; I may have to make that hunch bet!

Maid on a Mission is another longshot for tomorrow’s Beverly D. While I’m not sure that she’s on the same level as the rest of these fillies and mares, she certainly is a lovely horse.

It’s Euro Charline who is the horse to beat in the Beverly D., though. When she won this race last year, she was the youngest horse ever to do so; if she wins again tomorrow, she’ll be the only horse to snatch consecutive victories.

Euro Charline was very on her toes in her gallop around the grass course this morning; in fact, she shook her head a few times coming down the homestretch in an attempt to move faster. She’s definitely fresh and ready for this race, and it’s going to be an interesting event when it kicks off at 5:05 p.m. tomorrow.

Now, on to the Million contenders! Since the first Arlington Million in 1981, the race has become a destination for top turf runners the world over. With a million dollars on the line, a trip to the Breeders’ Cup World Championships at stake and a mile and a quarter standing between the field and glory, it’s no wonder that there are 13 Thoroughbreds set to run in Saturday’s big event.
The first Million runner I saw this morning was Slumber. Already a millionaire, Slumber is having a pretty spectacular 2015: in his five races this year, he’s finished in the top three in four starts. That’s pretty impressive, and he looked fantastic as he galloped around the oval today.

Wake Forest is another German-bred horse. He’s coming off of a win in the Hamburg Trophy, but he’s got a tougher field facing him in the Million.

Big Blue Kitten has already earned a berth to the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Turf by winning his last start in the United Nations Handicap on July 5 at Monmouth Park; that could be why his exercise rider had a huge grin on his face as the pair jogged past me this morning.

When Big Blue Kitten started his gallop, though, I was pretty sure that the reason his rider was smiling was due to the fact that he was on a very fit horse. Big Blue Kitten looks amazing, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he earned a trip to the Arlington Million winner’s circle tomorrow.

There’s a lot of competition to get there, though: Up With The Birds is going to give his contenders a run for their money, after all. Although he’s listed at 12-to-1 in the program’s betting odds, this horse was the Canadian Horse of the Year in 2013 and has amassed lifetime earnings of more than $1.4-million in his 17 career races.

Legendary is a British-bred horse who will be trying the Arlington turf course for the first time tomorrow. He’s had plenty of success on the New York circuit, and he looked very eager and happy as he galloped here today.

Maverick Wave is an American-bred horse who’s been running in Great Britain with much success to his credit. He’s coming off a two-race win streak, and he was textbook perfect as he galloped around the Arlington main track today.

Belgian Bill is perhaps the most international of all of the horses running tomorrow: he’s run in England, Turkey, and Dubai in his career, and now he’s stamped his passport with a trip to the Arlington Million. He’s certainly experienced, but I think he’ll have to put in the race of his life to best this field.

The horse I’ll end with is the one I fell in love with this morning. Say hello to Triple Threat:

He’s clearly a barn favorite, too, since he was happily accepting pats from his exercise rider this morning.

This horse has so much personality! He was in love with the cameras when he was waiting to take his morning exercise; the more photographers clustered around him, the more Triple Threat struck poses. It got to the point where, when his rider tried to actually get him to go for a gallop instead of mugging for the cameras, the horse just refused. You can see his rider laughing about it in the photo below – I’m telling you, Triple Threat is a hoot!

When he finally did agree to take a lap, I loved the way that Triple Threat moved. Athletic, poised, and focused; I think he’s my horse for the Million. Who’s yours?