We are now less than a week away from the 30th
Arlington Million Day! I am so excited that I can hardly handle it anymore! In
this blog, I’m going to preview three of the runners that we expect trainer
Dale Romans to ship into Arlington for the big day, including the three year
old turf machine, Silver Max.
If you haven’t had the chance to see
Silver Max’s race in
the
Arlington Classic earlier in the year, then you really should check it out (
CLICK HERE).
This horse set some wild early fractions on the lead only to never relinquish
the lead in an
impressive victory back in May. Since the dismal performance
against Kentucky Derby hopefuls in the Holy Bull at Gulfstream, Silver Max has
ripped off 6 straight wins, all in an impressive fashion. I don’t see any
reason why he couldn’t go to the lead in the
Secretariat Stakes, and with the
rail in Million Lane 5, it may be tough for any of the closers to catch up down
the stretch.
(Silver Max wins the Arlington Classic - by Four Footed Fotos)
The sire of Silver Max, Badge of Silver, was a multiple
graded stakes winner in his own career. In 16 career starts he won 7 of them
including the Grade 3 Risen Star, the Grade 3 Hal’s Hope, the Grade 2 New
Orleans Handicap, and finally a graded turf stake victory in the Grade 2 San
Gabriel Handicap. He also had a third place finish in the 2006 Breeders’ Cup
Mile. Silver Max’s broodmare Sire, Kissin Kris, is also a multiple graded
stakes winner highlighted by a second place finish in the 1993 Belmont, a win
in the Haskell, and a second place finish in the Travers. So as you can tell,
Silver Max already had the pedigree of a champion. I’m certainly looking
forward to his return to Arlington next weekend!!
Silver Max is not the only runner that Romans may send to
the Secretariat Stakes. Donegal Racing’s
Finnegans Wake could also make an
appearance as well. Thus far in his short career of only 8 starts, he has won only
the maiden breaker and an allowance race. Finnegans Wake is no stranger to graded
stakes competition however. He has two third place finishes in both the Gotham
Stakes and the Grade 2 Virginia Derby (won by Silver Max).
Finnegans Wake’s sire, Powerscourt, won many stakes races in
his career over in Europe and had also made two appearances in the Arlington
Million,
winning the big one in 2005 at 5-1. So you can see by the pedigree
that he definitely fits in with this crowd, especially by having some Northern
Dancer and Raise a Native in his bloodline.
We can expect trainer Romans to have one more entry on
Million Day, and that would be with Arlington Million contender
Little Mike. This
horse has earned over $866,000 and has 10 victories in 18 career starts. Not
only has he won graded stakes races in the past, but he also has a Grade 1
victory recently in the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic at Churchill Downs back
on Kentucky Derby Day springing the 12-1 upset on the lead. His other graded
stakes victories include the Florida Sunshine Millions Turf, the Appleton
Stakes, the Canadian Turf Stakes, and the Fort Lauderdale Stakes. He might be
up against some tough folks in the Arlington Million however with names like
Willcox Inn, Treasure Beach, Wigmore Hall, and Boisterous.
(Little Mike wins the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic)
It appears though that Dale Romans is serious about making
an impact here in Chicago next Saturday. I certainly hope we see him in the winners
circle at least once!
Stay tuned for more Arlington Million Day profile blogs as we get closer to the big day!
**CHECK THIS OUT**
Check out the latest in the "Behind the Silks" series from Arlington Park!
And in other Horse Racing Nation headlines:
Is Wise Dan the best all-around horse in America?
Will Michael Phelps get into horse ownership?
What about the recent hall of fame inductions?