The Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile has quickly become one of the
most exciting races on Breeders' Cup weekend. Even though it has only been
around a mere five years it’s provided some heart stopping finishes and some
breathtaking performances.
Over the next five weeks leading up to the Breeders Cup we
will be spotlighting The Dirt Mile hopefuls while giving you all the
information you need to succeed in betting this race.
Monmouth Park was the setting for
the inaugural Dirt Mile in 2007. Under
darkened skies and constant rain, a son of Pulpit gave us one of the most
dominating performances of the weekend. The James Jerkins trainee Corinthian
silenced all his critics while leaving no doubt to who was the best horse in
this race. Corinthian went off as the 7/2 second choice while Discreet Cat was
made the 3/2 favorite. Corinthian made a powerful move at the top of the
stretch running right by Gotcha Gold like he was frozen in ice. Under the
faithful hands of jockey Kent Desormeaux Corinthian buried his opponents by nearly
7 lengths.
Albertus Maximus stole the show in the 2008 addition of the
Dirt Mile at Santa Anita Race Track. The Vladimir Cerin charge closed from
tenth behind a blistering early pace to conquer the Dirt Mile field by 1 ¼ lengths
under jockey Garret Gomez at odds of 6/1.
In 2009, the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile earned a grade I status. Santa Anita was yet again the setting for this epic event. The Tote
board nearly blew up when the Mike Maker trained colt Furthest Land crossed the
finish line 3/4’s of a length in front of Ready’s Echo. Julien
Leparoux guided the Smart Strike colt to an unexpected victory at odds of 21/1.
In 2010, the Breeders’ Cup returned to the fabled Twin
Spires of Churchill Downs. In midstretch of the Dirt Mile it seemed we were
going back in time as a son of Tiznow fought to the lead at Churchill Downs
like his sire did some 10 years ago, but Dakota Phone wasn’t feeling any taste
of De-ja-vu. Dakota Phone was last in
the early stages and was 10th at the top of the stretch before
unleashing a ferocious rally which led the Jerry Hollendorfer trainee in a
head bobbing finish with the aforementioned son of Tiznow, Morning Line. This
time it would be the Tiznow colt that lost the photo as Dakota Phone scored a
nose victory under Joel Rosario to blow up the tote board yet again at odds of
37/1.
Last Year’s running of the Dirt Mile gave us another breathtaking performance. The 2011 Preakness
winner Shackleford found himself 2 ½ lengths clear in the stretch while looking
all but home, that was until the Donnie Von Hemel charge put on a show for the
Churchill Downs patrons. Caleb’s Posse closed from 8th to draw off
and run away in the stretch under jockey Rajiv Maragh to crush the field by 4
lengths at odds of nearly 7/1.
Looking back over the past five years and the first five
Breeders’ Cup Mile races, a few stats stand out.
1. No favorite has won the Dirt Mile.
2. No trainer/jockey/owner/or horse has won the Dirt Mile
twice.
3. No horse has won on the lead, in fact most horses have
either came from the clouds or sat a middle stalking trip to win.
4. The average payout on the win is $32.52
5. The average win margin is 2 ½ lengths.
Stay tuned next week as we profile the main contenders in
this division.