Breeders’ Cup Challenge: Arlington Million on August 9 at Arlington Park

Posted on Wednesday, August 6th, 2008

Globetrotting Archipenko, with graded stakes victories on 3 continents this year, will try to add North America to that list when he faces 7 rivals in Saturday’s 25th renewal of the Arlington Million (G1) at Arlington Park.

SBG Global RacebookThe Arlington Million is part of the 2008 Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win & You’re In” series where the winner will automatically become one of the Breeders’ Cup horses for the October 25 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita Park.

Horses racing in Arlington Park’s Arlington Million at 1 1/4 miles on turf with jockeys weight and morning line odds in post position order:

  1. Archipenko under jockey Kevin Shea carries 126 lbs. with morning line odds of 2-1
  2. Stream Cat under jockey Julien Leparoux, 126 lbs., 8-1
  3. Spirit One under jockey Ioritz Mendizabal, 126 lbs., 10-1
  4. Sudan under jockey John Velazquez, 126 lbs., 8-1
  5. Cloudy’s Knight under jockey Ramsey Zimmerman, 126 lbs., 20-1
  6. Einstein under jockey Robby Albarado, 126 lbs., 7-2
  7. Mount Nelson under jockey Johnny Murtagh, 126 lbs., 5-2
  8. Silverfoot under jockey Rene Douglas, 126 lbs., 20-1

Named in honor of a Ukrainian sculptor who exemplified the Cubist movement of the early 1900s, Archipenko is cut like a statue - small in size but perfectly balanced - while carrying the large heart of a champion within his diminutive frame.

Archipenko, owned by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum and Dr. A. H. Parker, is enjoying a season highlighted by a victory in Hong Kong’s Group I Queen Elizabeth II Cup last April 27, most recently won Great Britain’s Group I Summer Mile Stakes July 12, and also posted a tally in Dubai’s Fahidi Fort Stakes (G2) Feb. 21.

South African-born but internationally renowned race horse trainer Michael de Kock, who brought South African-bred Irridescence to Arlington Park last summer to finish second in the 2007 Beverly D. (G1), is the trainer of Archipenko. South African jockey Kevin Shea is in Chicago to ride Archipenko.

A second European-based invader - the first Grade I Coral-Eclipse winner to grace Arlington’s world famous grass course for Chicago’s centerpiece race - is the British-bred, Irish-based Mount Nelson. Owned by Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier and Michael Tabor, and trained by Ireland’s Aidan O’Brien, Mount Nelson’s Coral-Eclipse tally came in his most recent start July 5 at Sandown Park.

Race horse trainer Aidan O’Brien, who has an unprecedented 17 Group I victories at this stage of the 2008 season already notched on his resume, also trained Mount Nelson to win France’s Group I Criterium International at Saint-Cloud two years ago. Irish jockey Johnny Murtagh journeys across the Atlantic to ride for O’Brien.

The Arlington Million, along with the $750,000 Beverly D. and the $400,000 Secretariat, is one of three Grade I races to make up Arlington’s one-day International Festival of Racing Saturday. Together, they are the only three Grade I races contested in Illinois on an annual basis.

Leading America’s hopes for a victory in Arlington Million is South American-bred but North American-based Einstein, whose 2008 season currently boasts a victory in Churchill Downs‘ Woodford Reserve Turf Classic (G1) on Kentucky Derby Day May 3 and a win in South Florida’s Gulfstream Park Turf (G1) Feb. 23.

Trained by Helen Pitts and owned by Midnight Cry Stable, the Brazilian-bred Einstein finished as a fast-closing second in Churchill Downs’s Firecracker Handicap (G2) at one mile over the Louisville lawn July 4. Jockey Robby Albarado returns in the irons for the Arlington Million, run at a mile and a quarter.

A third European invader, the French-bred, French-based Spirit One, is known for leading European superstar Duke of Marmalade in all but the late stages of Longchamp’s Group I Prix Ganay April 27, but the colt was also second by a half-length behind eventual Group I Champion Stakes hero Literato in Deauville’s Group II Prix Guillaume d’Ornano in August of 2007. Spirit One is owned by Kamel Chehboub, trained by Philippe Demercastel, and will be ridden by jockey Ioritz Mendizabal.

Another strong American-based threat in the Arlington Million is Fab Oak Stable, Bobby Hurley and John Goldthorpe’s Stream Cat, a winner by 3 3/4-lengths in the Arlington Handicap (G3) as the July 12 final major local prep for the Arlington Million. Stream Cat is conditioned by Rusty Arnold, enjoying the best Arlington Park season of his career, and will be ridden by French-born jockey Julien Leparoux.

Online Horse Betting

Completing the Arlington Million field is Gary Tanaka’s Sudan, fourth in Belmont Park’s Man o’ War (G1) July 12 and an Irish-bred conditioned by Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel with jockey John Velazquez up; S J Stables’ Cloudy’s Knight, winner of Woodbine’s Canadian International (G1) last fall and trained by Frank Kirby with jockey Ramsey Zimmerman named; and Chrysalis Stable’s Silverfoot, the winner of Arlington Park’s Stars and Stripes Handicap (G3) July 4 who is trained by Dallas Stewart with Arlington jockey champion Rene Douglas aboard.

The Arlington Million is race 10 of 12 horse races in Arlington Park’s August 9 card. Arlington Million post time is 4:44 pm Central.

Horse racing news edited from www.arlingtonpark.com.

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"Breeders’ Cup Challenge: Arlington Million on August 9 at Arlington Park" was posted on Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 at 9:33 pm and is filed under Arlington Park, Horse Racing Industry, Horses, Race Tracks News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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