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Mr. Commons muscles through in Arcadia

Mr. Commons is three-for-four on the Santa Anita turf, home of the BC Mile in 2012 (Benoit Photos) St George Farm's homebred Mr. Commons captured Saturday's Grade 2, $150,000 Arcadia at Santa Anita just the way his 2-5 odds implied -- in a manner dismissive of his opposition. But while muscling through to deliver his rally in the stretch, the talented four-year-old altered course to the inside, and appeared to invade the path of 45-1 longshot Massone. The stewards conducted an inquiry, which provided the only real suspense of the race, but ultimately decided to let the original order of finish stand. Jockey Mike Smith had taken an arguably even more daring approach aboard Mr. Commons last time. In the Grade 2 Sir Beaufort over this same turf course and one-mile distance, the highly-regarded son of Artie Schiller likewise took the inside route, averted a potentially sticky situation, and bolted home by 3 1/4 lengths.

By following up promptly in the Arcadia, Mr. Commons advertised himself as a serious, if early, contender for the Breeders' Cup Mile here on November 3. The John Shirreffs charge was a tough-trip fifth in the Mile last November at Churchill Downs, when still a relatively inexperienced three-year-old. As if sharpened by the combat, Mr. Commons put it all together in devastating fashion in the Sir Beaufort, and has now won two in a row.

The 123-pound highweight on Saturday, Mr. Commons rated several lengths off the pace set by Dewey's Special through splits of :22 4/5, :46 1/5 and 1:09 2/5. Veteran sprinter M One Rifle stalked in his turf debut. Pathfork, Ireland's highweight juvenile of 2010, tracked along the inside, and was a touch rank in his American premiere for John Sadler.

Mr. Commons telegraphed that he had a handful of energy down the backstretch. Creeping up swinging for home, he was poised right behind the leader in midstretch. Mr. Commons dove through to the inside of Dewey's Special, and kicked away. Massone, who had been eyeing the same path, was forced to steady, but regrouped and followed in Mr. Commons' wake.

Wider out, reformed claimer Willyconker unleashed a strong bid. Smith kept Mr. Commons focused on the task at hand, and the odds-on choice easily held off the 10-1 upstart by one length. The convincing winner stopped the teletimer in 1:33 2/5 on the firm course and returned $2.80, $2.40 and $2.10.

Mike Smith has every confidence in taking Mr. Commons in tight spots (Benoit Photos) "He's just incredible," Smith said. "Like I said before, he makes me feel like a kid again. When I ride him he gives me a whole lot of guts because I believe in him so much. I know that he's going to go anywhere I ask him to go, and he does it with extreme acceleration. He just makes my job really easy. "I didn't feel I bothered anybody because I accelerated so quickly. I think Corey (Nakatani on Massone) thought I was going to interfere with him, but I accelerated so fast I got out of his way before there could be any trouble. I wanted to get in the pocket, and I was a little bit worried about getting inside of M One Rifle because it was his first time on the grass. "Going a mile, I thought if he didn't kick on, which he didn't, around the turn then I might get stuck in behind him. "I had already committed myself at that point, so I didn't want to make the race any harder on my horse than it had to be. He loves to be in the pocket, so I took the chance. Like I said, I have so much confidence he'll go wherever I point him, and he did. He went through another tight hole again and did it with a lot of courage." Shirreffs wasn't anxious watching the race unfold. "I have a lot of confidence in Mike," the trainer said. "He knows the horse so well, that he's just waiting for an opening."

Willyconker held second by a half-length from Massone. There was a gap of 4 1/2 lengths back to Calimonco in fourth. Dewey's Special, Pathfork and M One Rifle rounded out the order under the wire. El Gato Malo was scratched in favor of Sunday's Grade 2 San Antonio on the main track.

Mr. Commons has compiled an 11-5-2-1 record while bankrolling $563,660. A 5 1/2-length maiden winner over the downhill turf last winter, the handsome bay switched to the dirt for the Triple Crown trail. An entry-level allowance score propelled him into the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby, where he checked in a useful third despite displacing his palate. Lacking sufficient graded earnings to enter the Kentucky Derby, he tried the Preakness, but wound up a non-threatening eighth.

Back on turf, Mr. Commons resumed his forward progress, and dismantled fellow sophomores in the Oceanside at Del Mar. He missed narrowly to battle-hardened veterans Caracortado and Jeranimo in the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile and Grade 2 Oak Tree Mile, respectively, prior to his Breeders' Cup excursion.

Shirreffs is looking forward to another Breeders' Cup tilt, this time on his local circuit.

"Obviously, that's what we're hoping," Shirreffs said. "Last year he was a little immature and had a little trouble in the race. Now he's handling tight spots very well.

"There's so much difference between him now and when he ran in the Santa Anita Derby, you cannot imagine. Totally different. Experience is a great teacher."

The Grade 1 Frank E. Kilroe Mile on March 3 would be the next logical target, but Shirreffs wouldn't confirm just yet.

"I don't know," Shirreffs said. "We'll see. Hopefully we can make that race. It's hard to say right away."

The Kentucky-bred, who was listed as sold for $70,000 as a Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling, is a half-brother to Grade 3-placed multiple stakes winner Jungle Fighter. They are out of the stakes-winning, Grade 2-placed Apalachee mare Joustabout and hail from the family of Grade 2 scorer Kirrary.

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