Real Solution (red and white) and The Apache (yellow and blue) go head to head
The Apache lost Saturday’s Gr1 Arlington Million at Arlington Park in Chicago on an objection after beating Real Solution by a head.
Click on the video link below to get a sense of the drama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa3Z31nJbws
Real Solution (Alan Garcia) was on the outside of The Apache (Christophe Soumillon) as they came down the stretch. The Apache was on the rail, but ended up about four lanes outside, bumping Real Solution in the process.
Garcia and trainer Chad Brown filed an objection, and after 6 minutes, the objection was upheld.
“At the top of the stretch I had plenty of horse to go by, and the other horse (The Apache) bumped us more than four times,” Garcia said. “Made me lose my momentum. If that didn’t happen we might have won by two or three lengths.”
Soumillon blamed the move to the right on the giant video screen closed to the finish line.
“We were the better horse, but he got scared by the screen and shifted out,” Soumillon said. “My horse was on the lead and got a little unbalanced. The screen scared him, but we were the best horse.”
Mike de Kock was bitterly disappointed but commented on Sunday morning: “To say that we are gutted is an understatement but at the same time very proud of The Apache and the team. He ran a huge race. It was a good day for SA-bred bred horses and it could have been massive.
“On viewing the head-on of the Arlington Million I can safely say that the second horse did get hampered by The Apache and had we got beat like that I would have felt aggrieved. I still think had The Apache gone straight he would have won.
“It’s painful but that’s the game. Between Shea Shea’s close second at Royal Ascot and now this we feel a bit unlucky, but we are very competitive on the world stage with fairly unfashionably bred horses which makes me proud!”
www.mikedekockracing.com
