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Aragorn strides to victory at Del Mar Ballygallon Stud Ltd.'s homebred ARAGORN (Ire) (Giant's Causeway) stalked the pace along the rail during the early running of Saturday's $374,000 Del Mar Breeders' Cup Mile H. (G2) but quickly took over turning for home, posting a 1 1/2-length victory under Corey Nakatani. The Neil Drysdale trainee was sent off the 2-5 favorite and paid out $2.80, $2.40 and $2.10 to his faithful backers. When the gates opened, Wild Buddy (Line in the Sand) gunned to the lead, followed closely by Aragorn and Sweet Return (GB) (Elmaamul). With Sweet Return just to his outside, Aragorn settled in on the rail behind Wild Buddy, who carved out fractions of :23 1/5, :46 3/5, 1:09 3/5 and 1:21 1/5. Entering the final turn, Nakatani and Aragorn were just waiting for the pacesetter to drift out a bit, and, when it happened, sped through a hole on the inside to hit the front. From there, it was only a question of how far he would win by as Aragorn completed a mile on the firm turf in 1:32 3/5, just .47 off the course record. If Nakatani had not already geared his mount down before the wire, he might have actually set a new course record. "I watched Jon's horse (Jon Court on Wild Buddy) getting out a little bit and when he drifted off the fence, I was gone," Nakatani said. "I was easing him up the last part and then he pulled himself up. He looked inside -- I think he was looking at the big screen -- and he sort of stopped." Wild Buddy held well for second, 1 1/4 lengths up on Hendrix (Sultry Song), to pay $6.60 and $3 as the 20-1 longshot while ending the $15.50 exacta ($1). Hendrix stuck a head in front of Sweet Return on the wire to garner show honors, returning $3.20 at 17-1 and completing the $78.90 trifecta ($1) (2-7-4). Following the top four were Quasimodo (A.P. Indy), El Don (Cee's Tizzy) and Laura's Lucky Boy (Theatrical [Ire]) after We All Love Aleyna (Nines Wild) was withdrawn. Aragorn broke his maiden at Doncaster in England, then ran third in the King Charles II S. He made two more starts overseas, and was then brought to the United States, finishing second in an allowance at the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meet before taking the Oak Tree Derby (G2). Not seen again until making his four-year-old bow in the Frank E. Kilroe Mile H. (G1), the chestnut was just a head back in second in that event before filling that same spot in the San Francisco Breeders' Cup Mile S. (G2). With this victory, Aragorn has now won three straight -- including the Shoemaker Breeders' Cup Mile S. (G1) and Eddie Read H. (G1) -- and boasts a 12-5-4-1 career record with $945,480 in lifetime earnings. The Irish-bred Aragorn is out of the Mr. Prospector mare Onaga, who has an unraced juvenile filly named Kaseema (Storm Cat), a yearling colt named Omnicat (Storm Cat) and a 2006 filly by Giant's Causeway. Aragorn will likely go for the Oak Tree Breeders' Cup Mile S. (G2) on October 7 next, according to Drysdale.
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