City of Light Makes it Three G1s in BC Dirt Mile
Image:
Description:
Photo: Skip Dickstein
City of Light wins the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile
City of Light , a 4-year-old son of Quality Road , took control early in the Nov. 3 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) and won in commanding fashion to give trainer Michael McCarthy his first win in the World Championships.
Bred in Kentucky by Ann Marie Farm, the colt was a $710,000 purchase at the 2015 Keeneland September Yearling Sale by Walnut Green, on behalf of William Warren Jr., his wife Suzanne, and their sons John-Kelly and Andrew. City of Light has now won three grade 1 stakes and earned more than $1.66 million.
"I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for this," said McCarthy, a former assistant to Todd Pletcher. "I thought he would love this racetrack. Backing up to one turn, where his best races were, I thought he would run away, and (he) did just that."
City of Light seized the lead just before the first quarter-mile after a break from the inside post. He took the field through brisk fractions of :22.64, :45.16, and 1:09.03. He was stalked by Firenze Fire and favorite Catalina Cruiser, who tracked wide throughout. At the top the stretch, City of Light under Javier Castellano found another gear and easily drew to a 2 3/4-length win.
Seeking the Soul came charging late and got up for second, 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Bravazo. The final time was 1:33.83. City of Light paid $7.20, $4.20, and $3.20. Seeking the Soul paid $7 and $4.60, and Bravazo paid $5.80.
"I was very nervous," said William Warren, who won the 2005 Breeders' Cup Classic Powered by Dodge (G1) with eventual Horse of the Year Saint Liam. "I was just hoping that we would get a good trip … and we had a great jockey and a great trainer, and that did give me a lot of confidence."
City of Light took the Malibu Stakes (G1) in his last start of 2017 and the Triple Bend Stakes (G1) in March at Santa Anita Park. He captured another graded win earlier in the year when he beat Accelerate , winner of Saturday's Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), in the Oaklawn Handicap (G2). City of Light has not finished off the board in his 10 starts.
City of Light will be aimed next for the Dec. 1 Cigar Mile Handicap (G1) at Aqueduct Racetrack, with the longer-range goal of starting in the $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1). Regardless of how his racing schedule unfolds, the colt will enter stud next year at Lane's End near Versailles, Ky., which also stands Quality Road.
"In July, Suzanne and I went to Lexington and visited nine farms that had expressed an interest in standing City of Light. It was a great experience for us to meet the management and see their mares and stallions," Warren said.
Dallas Stewart, the trainer of Seeking the Soul, said he was proud of how well the Charles Fipke homebred ran.
"He needed a little more ground, that's all," he said. "We'll point toward the Pegasus from here."