The Mile Championship
The Mile Championship
Grade II
One mile
Firm Turf
$1,850,000
All horses, 3 years old and up
Welcome to the land of the rising sun where despite some low turnout on entries the crowds are pouring in from all over the world. The lovers of high stakes are especially in for a treat as the card is loaded with millionaire making purses and unlike some of the racing in other regions; real championship race horses. While The Mile Championship may be suffering a bit due to its proximity to the Breeders Bowl mile, the winner of the race will surge up the earnings list taking home the lion’s share of just under 2 million dollars. That is nothing to sneeze at and a tip of the cap to trainers who studied the schedule and saw the opportunity to get in a race of this magnitude and yet be likely to avoid most of the divisions heavyweights. So grab another plate of Sushi, pop open a Sapporo and settle in, the cash register is about to spit out some mighty big checks.
THE FIELD
PP1
9/2 INEVITABILITY(KY) ID# 129259
C Roser ( 613 – 73 – 87 – 95 – 12% )
Trainer billzpaid1
4 Year Old Colt (DYNAFORMER x STORM CAT x CRAFTY PROSPECTOR)
Bred by billzpaid1
Inevitability is inevitably going to put a huge win on his race card. In his 6 graded attempts this year he has been ITM 5 times winning the Del Webb Mile and running second in his only G1 attempt. However his last race was the only time he missed a check and his SPF’s have been trending in the wrong direction. He is also turning around here on a bit of short rest. His stalking style is always nice, but is particularly useful in a smaller field. Is he on the muscle or will he be a bit short? I think this could be another day in line for minor spoils.
PP 2
7/1 SANTA FE CHOO CHOO(ENG) ID# 165779
Me Spencer ( 127 – 11 – 14 – 16 – 9% )
Trainer lawman2
4 Year Old Colt(RAIL LINK x PEINTRE CELEBRE (IRE) x RUBIANO)
Bred by lawman2
Lawman is looking like one of those shrewd trainers who spotted a chance to get their charge in a graded race that might be a bit on the soft side . The little choo choo that could has been putting together some fine efforts at the allowance level and even when stepped up against open stakes foes. His first try at a graded score was last out and the results were less than scintillating. He did put up the kind of figs you would expect for this group two back in an open allowance but otherwise seems to be lacking speed wise. The horse likes to win scoring 9 times in just 22 starts but could be in a bit deep here. Getting only 7-1 makes him less valuable from a bettors standpoint.
PP 3
3/1 MORON GOLD(KY) ID# 167669
G Arnold ( 777 – 125 – 159 – 129 – 16% )
Trainer perko1
4 Year Colt(SEEKING THE GOLD x DANEHILL x MR. PROSPECTOR)
Bred by perko1
Perko looks to have struck the real thing rather than what his name implied. There is nothing dumb or slow looking about this one. The last time he tried this trick of turning his horse around quick, he was rewarded with a massive performance. Boy how nice would it be to have a graded quality horse that wants to get out on the track this fast after his last race? The speeds are what you want to see in a race of this caliber and the 119 really pops off the page. 36 races at 4 is quite a bit of mileage but this one seems to relish the extra work. A closer who loves to win (over 50 pct of the time) he is one to watch and the blue collar fans in the crowd will be pulling for hardest worker in the field.
PP 4
5/1 PICK AND CHOSE(AUS) ID# 120284
K Ledwith ( 856 – 260 – 172 – 120 – 30% )
Trainer dixon
4 Year Old Colt REDOUTE’S CHOICE (AUS) x SEEKING THE GOLD x A.P. INDY)
Bred by dixon
His name seems to imply a problem with tense and so does his recent race history. His best form seems to be in the past like his name. If he were properly in the present he might choose to win, but looking at his recent races that option may not be available. Then again if he chose to put forth the effort and racing style he displayed in The Homelick he might be able to barrel out of the gate and wire this group. He has the back class and a top jockey to do it but he may have “picked” the wrong time to get all of it together.
PP 5
5/1 BLAZING NOBILITY(KY) ID# 112457
B Simmons ( 112 – 10 – 10 – 8 – 9% )
Trainer desimster4
4 Year Old Colt (NOBLE CAUSEWAY x FUSAICHI PEGASUS x HALO)
Bred by otistaylor
The breeder/trainer is famous for dropping his horses in over their head and hoping for the best. The new Tsu as he is known in racing circles may have actually caught a break today. While one might assume a 1.8 million dollar purse would attract horses far better than this one, it actually looks to be fairly evenly matched with rival runners. So despite being eligible for a NW1N here he is with a punchers chance to go over the million dollar plateau. Will he be blazing a trail to glory or just go up in smoke like so many other of Desimster’s over matched graded entries? The horse has guts so expect him leave it all out on the track but I am not sure it will be enough.
PP 6
7/1 MARIAS ICE PALACE(KY) ID# 145706
N Tippins ( 243 – 33 – 23 – 26 – 14% )
Trainer myclaret
5 Year Old Horse (MARIA’S MON x HABITAT x ICECAPADE)
Bred by myclaret
Myclaret’s horse might be as cold as the name implies. He has not felt the warmth of the winners circle on grass since his debut 4 score and 7 years ago. Still his 2nd in an grass based open stakes last time has boosted the trainers confidence to send him here. The word on the street is Myclaret talked with Desimster4 about how to get a horse ready for a graded try and this was the result. It could be a real coup for the hard charger but even his best dirt speeds don’t recommend him at the seemingly short price of 7-1. Now that I have said that and reversed jinxed him into winning this race I will have to put a decent sized saver wager on his nose.
PP 7
7/1 PASAME LA BOTELLA(ENG) ID# 142216
A Hudson ( 319 – 29 – 32 – 45 – 9% )
Trainer victoria
5 Year Old Horse (LIBRETTIST x SUNDAY SILENCE x UNFUWAIN)
Bred by otto
After needing to passame la bottela amongst all of the connections following this one’s effort in the Sand Castle and Sydney Miles, Victoria has all of them believing the hard knocker is ready to step back up to the graded level off back to back allowance romps. He could be right because the field is not shaping up to be a lot tougher than one of those. The real question is the horse afraid to rise to the occasion on the biggest days? His race history seems to show him as the type that likes to dominate inferior foes rather than battle against those that are his equal or better. The 7-1 shots in this race would be double digits in most graded affairs but someone is going to laugh all the way to el banco, so why not this one?
PP 8
6/1 CELTIC SIN(IRE) ID# 69838
B Van Houten ( 137 – 18 – 16 – 17 – 13% )
Trainer texcat
4 Year Old Colt (MONTJEU (IRE) x ALYDAR x BOLD RULER)
Bred by texcat
Texcat’s pony clearly believes it is a sin to not get your picture taken if your going to be in the mix late. The lightly raced 4 year old has only been second once and never been third to go with a whopping 10 wins in 18 starts. After looking like he was about emerge as an important player in the mile division back in March he spent the rest of this campaign doing a fine job of sprinting. he is just a quarter length away from being undefeated at the race distance which makes the change in distance even a bit more surprising. At 6-1 he looks tasty as it is not too hard to see him adding to his career best speed figs with the added distance. He is bred to run all day and has the speed to sprint I think that combination makes him a very dangerous horse in this field.
The Prediction
In a race where most of the field looks to be over its head we should end up with something every race fan loves. A wide open betting affair among fairly evenly matched foes. If Moron Gold’s training pattern of racing every 2-3 weeks holds up he looks to be much the best. But my money will be on Celtic Sin stepping up and showing the mile is his best race. I will look for Blazing Nobility to round out the trifecta. Good luck and Sayonara.