What a View on Short Rest For Shoemaker Mile

The more What a View gets into a rhythm, the more dangerous the gelded son of Vronsky seems to become.

From a tactical standpoint, the potency of his early speed hinges on how easily he settles into his tempo. In terms of his development, the 6-year-old has thrived most when trainer Kenny Black has kept his race schedule relatively packed. Both will be put to the test June 3, when What a View breaks from post 2 in a field of seven in the $400,000 Shoemaker Mile (G1T) at Santa Anita Park.

The Shoemaker Mile is the first Breeders' Cup "Win and You're In" Challenge race in the United States this year, entitling the nominated winner to automatic entry into the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) Nov. 4 at Del Mar.

Fresh off What a View's frontrunning victory as the 1-2 favorite in the May 20 Crystal Water Stakes for California-breds, Black is holding to the old adage of running his charge when he's right. Following the gelding's sixth-place finish in the April 14 Maker's 46 Mile Stakes (G1T) at Keeneland, a race where he was beaten just three lengths, his conditioner knew he wanted to target the Shoemaker but didn't want to just train the grade 1 winner up to Saturday's eight-furlong test.

Instead of working What a View, Black essentially saddled the gelding for a paid workout when he cruised to a one-length, gate-to-wire win in the Crystal Water. It was just the tightener Black was hoping for as he prepared to wheel the dark bay back two weeks later for owners Finish Line Racing, The Elwood Johnston Trust, and Taste of Victory Stables.

"I don't have to work him—he's fresh, he's sharp, doing well," Black said. "I think he'll be even better (this weekend). Last time we ran him back in two weeks he was even better. He had a higher (speed figure) than he did the time before, so we're good to go."

Black previously brought What a View back on short rest earlier this winter, when the gelding followed a runner-up effort during his seasonal debut in the Jan. 28 California Cup Turf Classic Stakes presented by City National Bank with another second-place run in the Feb. 11 Arcadia Stakes (G2T), where he was beaten a head by fellow Shoemaker Mile entrant Bolo.

He has made at least one start a month since that time, and the only instance where he finished worse than second in 10 starts over the Santa Anita course came when he ran 14th in November's Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T).

What a View's confirmed frontrunning style will likely be tested by the presence of fellow speedster and multiple graded stakes winner Heart to Heart. The two hooked up in the Maker's 46 Mile, when Heart to Heart rated second before he took a clear lead in the stretch, only to be denied his first top-level triumph when he was caught in the final strides by American Patriot.

Heart to Heart, a 6-year-old son of English Channel  , finished fourth in last year's edition of the Shoemaker Mile and is an eight-time graded stakes winner, with his most recent triumph coming when the popular Brian Lynch trainee prevailed in the March 4 Canadian Turf Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream Park.

Originally slated to stand his first year at stud in 2017, Calumet Farm's Bal a Bali   was instead kept in training for his 7-year-old season and rewarded that call when he captured the March 11 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes (G1T) by a head over What a View. The son of Put It Back returns to the comforts of his California base after venturing to Churchill Downs for a fifth-place finish in the  May 6 Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (G1T), where he never advanced after rating midpack in the 11-horse field.