When all was said and done, the Gr1 Arlington Million , despite lacking any overseas entries, still had a touch of international flair thanks to Santin , a Godolphin homebred colt who lifted the trophy as the race moved to Churchill Downs on Saturday.
Bloodhorse.com reports that Santin, a 4-year-old, Kentucky-bred colt by Distorted Humor , shadowed pacesetting Smooth Like Strait into the stretch turn of the Million, challenged at the three-sixteenths pole and drove by to win by 1 3/4 lengths.
Santin charges to victory on Saturday (Pic – Churchill Downs)
Smooth Like Strait held second with Sacred Life edging Set Piece for third.
Winning jockey Tyler Gaffalione said the plan from the beginning was to keep Santin close to Smooth Like Strait and to make a late run. That strategy became doubly important, he said, with the scratch of the speedy Megacity , and with speed holding well in the day’s only other turf race, the Beverly D. Stakes (G1T).
“Earlier, we rode in the Beverly D. and it looked like speed was holding up pretty well on this course,” Gaffalione said. With the scratch of the other speed, we didn’t want to let Smooth Like Strait get away.”
Winning trainer Brendan Walsh said the Million played out similarly to Santin’s victory in the Gr1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic over the same course on Kentucky Derby Day, May 7.
“It was the same type of race,” Walsh said. “Tyler got him in a good position and we knew from the Beverly D. that you probably wanted to be up there with the pace. He delivered on what we thought he could do. He’s been training super.”
Santin, out of the Medaglia d’Oro mare Sentiero Italia , was unraced as a 2-year-old, then won his first two races late in 2021. He wound up that year finishing second in the Hollywood Derby (G1T) at Del Mar.
He finished fourth in his 4-year-old debut at Fair Grounds, then second in the Muniz Memorial Classic Presented by Horse Racing Nation (G2T), ironically behind Two Emmys , winner of the 2021 version of the Arlington Million although redubbed the Gr1 Mr. D. Stakes and run for $600,000.
He reported sixth in the Gr1 Resorts World Casino Manhattan Stakes at Belmont Park June 11 at 1 1/4 miles.
“A mile and an eighth is probably as far as he wants,” Walsh said, citing the distance as a factor in that loss. “I wouldn’t be shy to drop him back to a mile or a mile and a sixteenth.”
Smooth Like Strait, a 5-year-old son of Midnight Lute , continued a string of second- and third-place finishes that now stands at seven. Many of those were at a mile and in all of them, he surrendered the lead late. All were graded stakes.
While Santin was bred in Kentucky, his Dubai-based ownership maintained an historically international flair for the race.
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It was just the third time in the history of the Million, first run in 1981, and the first time since 1990, that no foreign-trained horse lined up for the event, which also was shortened this year from its normal 1 1/4 miles to 1 1/8 miles.
The Million was run at Churchill Downs for the first time. The track’s parent company, Churchill Downs Inc., has closed its former home, Arlington International Racecourse near Chicago, and is in the process of selling the property to the Chicago Bears.
With the change in venue, CDI did not actively seek foreign entries for the Million, which for decades was the crown jewel of Arlington’s “International Festival of Racing.” Churchill Downs originally announced four turf races for “Million Day” but scratched two of those, including the Secretariat Stakes (G1T) for 3-year-olds, because of season-long problems with its new turf course—another irony as Arlington’s lush turf was a major factor in attracting European entries.
Other than appearing to reward speed, the surface issues did not become an issue in either race.
“Of course it was a concern,” Walsh said. “But I think he showed on Derby weekend that he handled it fine and that’s what kind of made us bring him here.”
“I thought Churchill did a great job preparing for today,” Gaffalione added. “It’s a very safe course for us. We had no issues out there so we’re very thankful to them.”
Churchill Downs made a concerted effort to bring some Chicago flavour to the day, offering Chicago-style hot dogs and noting the history of the race in its former home. Still, the vibe was far different from the race that kicked off with the first seven-figure purse in Thoroughbred history, won by John Henry over The Bart in a heart-stopping finish.
Walsh noted the difference.
“When I came to America, the first track I came to was Arlington,” he said. “I always wanted to win an Arlington Million. It’s not at Arlington. But it’s the next best thing, to win an Arlington Million no matter what it is. We’ll take it.”
There was good news for a local breeder out of this race. Both Wilgerbosdrift stallion Flower Alley and Santin are sons of Distorted Humor, while the Vaguely Noble mare Diamond Spring features as the third dam of Flower Alley and fourth dam of Santin.
