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Arlington kicks off 2013 stakes season with a Grade 3
smorgasbord
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| General Election will take on 11 fellow sophomores while trying turf for the first time in the Arlington Classic
(Pat Lang Photography) |
A trio of Grade
3 races on Saturday will not only kick off the Memorial Day holiday
weekend at Arlington Park, but will also serve as the
curtain raisers on the track's 25-event, $5.5 million stakes slate. Two of
Saturday's main events will be run on the Polytrack while the third will be
contested over Arlington's grass course.
The lone turf race in the stakes troika is the $150,000
Arlington Classic for
three-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles. The race, which
serves as the first leg of Arlington's Mid-America Triple, drew a full field of 12,
including Admiral Kitten, second in the Grade 2 American
Turf at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day. The Mike Maker-trained Kitten's
Joy colt has never finished worse than second in three turf starts and will have Mike Smith
aboard.
Among those slated to face Admiral Kitten in the Arlington Classic is Fordubai, runner-up in the Grade
3 Illinois Derby last
month. The Greg Geier-trained son of E Dubai broke his maiden last
fall in his only try on turf, and gets a jockey switch to Kent Desormeaux for
Saturday's return to the green.
Stakes winners Brown Almighty, General Election and
Procurement have also been entered in the Arlington Classic. The former, a Big
Brown colt trained by Tim Ice, broke his maiden over this course last summer
before shipping south to annex the Sunny's Halo at Louisiana Downs. Eddie
Castro will be in the irons for the first time Saturday.
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General Election will be making his turf debut for
trainer Kellyn Gorder in the Arlington Classic. The Harlan's Holiday bay
captured the John Battaglia Memorial on Turfway Park's Polytrack in early March
and keeps the services of jockey Joe Rocco Jr., who guided General Election to a runner-up
placing in the Grade 3 Lexington over Keeneland's Polytrack last out in April.
Procurement invades from Santa Anita Park
for trainer Tom Proctor. The bay son of Milwaukee Brew won the La Puente
over that track's turf course on April 21 beneath Garrett Gomez, who has been aboard Procurement
in his last four starts and gets the return call.
Trainer Danny Peitz could have a live longshot in the Arlington Classic in
Yorkshire Icon, an English-bred recent acquisition who is exiting an impressive
May 4 allowance win on the Arlington turf.
"We were pleasantly surprised. He settled out the back and
ran right by them like a horse who could be useful," Peitz said of the small bay
son of Sixties Icon. "We don't know what's going to be in (the Arlington
Classic), but we are taking a shot here."
Yorkshire Icon comes from a European female family flush with endurance
influences and intense closing speed. This often also means that he may
appreciate a little bit of cut in the ground -- which proved true when he won his
allowance on yielding ground and his maiden in England over soft going.
"It wouldn't bother us if we get a little bit rain. He
proved the other day that he likes it. And, he seems like he's come out well and
is moving forward -- he seems very happy," Peitz said.
Coming from 16 lengths behind a
dawdling pace of 1:15.17 for the first six furlongs, Yorkshire Icon, despite
being on the petite side, made massive strides down the stretch to easily best
the field by a little over a length -- making up six lengths in the last quarter
and rewarding his backers at a nice 28-1.
"I'm hoping he runs well enough to keep running in the
(Mid-America Triple)," Peitz added. "He will probably get better as the races
get longer."
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| Nates Mineshaft returns to action following an 11-month layoff
(Amanda Hodges Weir/Hodges Photography) |
One race prior to the Arlington Classic, the $150,000
Hanshin Cup at a mile over Polytrack
attracted 10 older horses topped by Nates Mineshaft. The six-year-old ridgling son of
Mineshaft has not raced since finishing third in the Grade 1 Stephen Foster
Handicap at Churchill Downs last June, but prior to that had won the Grade 2 New
Orleans Handicap, Grade 3 Lone Star Park Handicap and Grade 3 Mineshaft Handicap.
Relatively lightly raced, Nates Mineshaft was a respectable third to Grade 1 Santa Anita
Handicap winner Ron the Greek and eventual Horse of the Year Wise Dan in the
Foster to become Grade 1-placed. Since then, he was entered in last fall's
Hawthorne Gold Cup (G2), but was withdrawn and given additional rest until now.
"We have been waiting a long time to run him. He was never
injured, he just had time off, and he's fit and happy right now," explained
trainer Anne Smith from her Arlington barn. "The timing of the race is perfect.
We want to see if, at age six, he still wants to be competitive. We'll know more
about where he is after the race.
"He's training like we're doing the right thing by
entering. He doesn't seem to train super fast, but he definitely is fast in his
race. He's had some easy works and I like how relaxed he is."
A good performance in the Hanshin could lead to bigger and
better things at Arlington for the handicapper.
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"In a perfect world, we'd like to keep him here and see if he takes to the
grass," Smith stated. "The owners are local and want to see him race here in
Illinois at Arlington."
E.T. Baird has the call on Nates Mineshaft, who will be making his
first start on a synthetic course since his lone try in December 2011 at Turfway Park.
"Right now he's telling me that he handles this track just fine," Smith
commented.
Among those lining up against Nates Mineshaft is Mister Marti Gras, who ran second in the
Grade 3 Washington Park Handicap last
fall in his last appearance at Arlington. The Belong to Me six-year-old gelding
has been competitive in several starts since, including two wins at Hawthorne
last fall.
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| Ice Cream Silence faces a rematch with Sisterhood in the Arlington Matron
(Keeneland/Coady Photography) |
Completing the trifecta of stakes races on Saturday will be the $150,000
Arlington Matron for fillies and mares at
1 1/8 miles on the Polytrack. Lotta Lovin is a proven stakes winner on Polytrack
and invades the race for trainer Mike Maker.
The daughter of Repent has taken six
of her seven victories over all-weather surfaces, including a 10 1/4-length romp
in the January 19 Likely Exchange on Turfway Park's Polytrack. Mike Smith has been named to
ride the four-year-old miss, who was last seen finishing fifth in the Grade 3
Doubledogdare on Keeneland's version of that synthetic track.
Ice Cream Silence triumphed in the Doubledogdare in her last trip to post,
and the four-year-old Street Sense filly could prove tough in here for trainer Rusty
Arnold. Also exiting that race is runner-up Sisterhood, who just missed by a
neck and will be looking to turn the tables on Ice Cream Silence.
Ausus didn't compete in the Doubledogdare, but is also exiting a start at
Keeneland for Peitz. The four-year-old Invasor filly finished fifth in the Grade
1 Jenny Wiley going 8 1/2 furlongs on that Kentucky track's turf, and her
trainer is looking forward to trying Ausus at a longer distance in the Arlington
Matron.
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"She ran behind four Grade 1 winners. She didn't disgrace
herself. I wish we would have had more pace to run at, but that's how it goes.
We knew we were taking a shot and she's a good filly," Peitz explained, before
adding that he believes the chestnut lass will appreciate the
conditions of the race.
"She broke her maiden here and likes the Polytrack. She will really
appreciate the two turns here, too. She seems to run well on everything. I'm looking to run her in the
(Grade 3) Modesty (on July 13) after this, and I thought this was a good spot to
hopefully get us there.
"She has
gone from a two-year-old who didn't look like much to competitive in a Grade 1.
I'm glad to keep her in training. She's an Invasor and I think she will get
better. I don't think she's going to embarrass us. We're going to
see something and find out how much she's improved. We would definitely like to
get to the (Grade 1) Beverly D. (on August 17)," the horseman concluded.
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