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Jambalaya jolts Arlington The first jolt to Saturday's $1 million Arlington Million S. (G1) came early on raceday, when After Market (Storm Cat), the 2-1 morning-line favorite, was withdrawn because the turf was not firm. That was a harbinger of another upset in the race itself. Kingfield Farms and trainer Catherine Day Phillips' JAMBALAYA (Langfuhr) didn't attract much attention in the build-up to the Million, but the Canadian shipper chose the right moment to assert himself. Collaring defending champion The Tin Man (Affirmed) in deep stretch, the dark bay five-year-old pulled off the upset in a final time of 2:04 3/5 for 1 1/4 miles on the good turf. Appropriately, Jambalaya, named for the Cajun menu item, was piloted by Louisiana's own Robby Albarado. In the early going, Sunriver (Saint Ballado) showed the way through dawdling fractions of :26 1/5, :50 4/5, 1:16 and 1:40 2/5, shadowed throughout by The Tin Man. With the field well bunched, Albarado positioned Jambalaya in a ground-saving spot just behind the leaders. On the far turn, The Tin Man pounced, and as the venerable nine-year-old appeared full of run, it appeared that an historic, back-to-back victory could be within his grasp. Jambalaya was just getting into gear after Albarado found room to the outside, however, and he delivered a stirring late rally to sweep past the 2-1, and sentimental, favorite. Leaving the gate as a 7-1 dark horse, Jambalaya returned $17.20, $6.60 and $3.80. "I figured I'd try to stay behind The Tin Man," Albarado said. "(Jambalaya) let me have my way, and at every point in the race, he was there for me." "Yesterday, we walked the turf and put our hands into it, and they went right into it," Day Phillips said. "It was definitely bottomless yesterday. Today, we went out there again, and it seemed a lot better. It had really dried up a lot, and they had also cut the grass, so we were a lot happier this morning. "We figured he would be sitting right off the pace, very similar to the races he ran at Gulfstream, sitting on the inside just off the pace," she added. "He ran when it was time to." The Tin Man kept on resolutely to preserve runner-up honors by a nose from French invader Doctor Dino (Fr) (Muhtathir [GB]). The grand old gelding gave back $3.80 and $2.60, while the third-placer furnished $3.60 at odds of nearly 5-1. "He ran awesome," jockey Victor Espinoza said of The Tin Man. "The turf is a little soft for him, but even then he tried really hard. We hooked up at the three-eighths pole with the other horse (Sunriver), and they put out a lot of extra effort when they go head-to-head. The last 20 yards, he was feeling it! If the turf had been a little more firm, I think he could have won it." "I'm proud, as proud as I can be," said Richard Mandella, The Tin Man's trainer. "I thought he had it at the eighth-pole." Another neck back came the inseparable pair of Sunriver and Stream Cat (Black Minnaloushe), who dead-heated for fourth. The exotics were worth $62.60 (exacta), $275.20 (trifecta), $383.40 (1-5-3-2 superfecta with the 5-2 Sunriver on the bottom) and $793.80 (1-5-3-7 superfecta rounded out by the nearly 15-1 Stream Cat). Danak (Ire) (Pivotal) and Pressing (Ire) (Soviet Star) completed the order of finish. Jambalaya now qualifies for millionaires' row, with $1,588,214 in earnings to go along with a mark of 21-8-1-7. He was notching his sixth career stakes tally and his third this year, having captured the Gulfstream Park Breeders' Cup Turf S. (G1) in February and the Pan American H. (G3) in March. As a sophomore in 2005, the gelding landed the Saranac S. (G3) at Saratoga and the Breeders' S. at Woodbine, the third leg of the Canadian Triple Crown. Last year, Jambalaya added the Singspiel S. His resume includes a total of six stakes placings, including the King Edward Breeders' Cup S. (Can-G2) and Northern Dancer Breeders' Cup Turf S. (Can-G2) in his past two outings. Bred by Gustav Schickedanz, Jambalaya was sold for a mere $2,500 at the 2003 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The five-year-old was produced by the winning Muskrat Suzie (Vice Regent), who is a full sister to 1996 Cup and Saucer S. scorer Muskrat Sammy. Jambalaya has an unraced juvenile half-brother by Johannesburg named Gauteng and a yearling half-sister named Siddona (Whiskey Wisdom).
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