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Bal a Bali eyes Shoemaker Mile, Arlington Million

Bal a Bali will probably stay home at Santa Anita rather than shipping for the Manhattan next (Benoit Photo) Fox Hill Farms and Siena Farms' Bal a Bali (Put It Back), a Triple Crown winner in his native Brazil, made his long-awaited American debut a winning one on Saturday afternoon at Santa Anita, besting seven others in the $100,000 American S. (G3) over a grassy mile. A survivor of laminitis after arriving in the United States last fall, the son of Hobeau Farm's talented American sprinter Put It Back returned to serious training with new conditioner Richard Mandella at the beginning of February with a hopeful eye on the big turf prizes throughout the country, including the Arlington Million (G1) on August 15. "He ran beautifully," said Rick Porter, principal of Fox Hill. "It was great to see what he did. We were nervous. He hadn't run in a year and (jockey) Flavien (Prat) rode a great race. Mandella was like a little kid afterward with his family; smiling, hugging and kissing. So much has gone into him coming back and to get it the way he did it was beautiful. "He had the patience to sit there a little closer than we would have liked because of the slower pace and then he split horses and exploded and we were really excited," Porter continued.

"(Dick) and I talked about the next race and we've pretty much decided to keep him in California for the Shoemaker Mile ([G1] on June 13 at Santa Anita) next. We are nominated and hoping to go to the Arlington Million after that if all goes well. Whether we have a race in between, that will be up to Dick."

A winner from five furlongs to 1 1/2 miles and a Group 1 winner from a mile to 1 1/2 miles in his native country, Bal a Bali will attempt to show the same versatility on this continent this season, if all goes well.

"He was .35 off the world record at a mile and he broke the track record at a mile and a half," Porter said. "Dick will find out what his best distance is.  He's shown he is able to do it in Brazil and hopefully he can do it here and keeps improving. There's no guarantee, but he came out great. One down."

"He came out great and we're looking forward to the Shoemaker Mile here," Mandella said Sunday.

His other option is Belmont Park's $1 million Manhattan (G1) at 1 1/4 miles on June 6, but Mandella would prefer not to ship at present.

"I just hate to go running him around the country yet," Mandella noted. "He's just getting started, so right now I'd say that's the plan. I'm not saying the Manhattan's not possible, but right now the plan is to run here."

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