Horses for Saturday’s 29th
running of the Arlington Million, 21st renewal of the $750,000 Beverly D. and
35th edition of the $400,000 Secretariat Stakes went through tune-ups of
varying intensity Thursday morning during training hours at Chicago’s
suburban oval.
Most impressive among them was
the South African-bred
Beverly D.
runner River Jetez, owned by Barbara and Cedrick Amm and Marsh Shirtliff, who
appeared on the turf course shortly after 8 a.m. under Trevor Brown, went five
furlongs in 51 flat and got the last eighth in 12 seconds. The ground was
listed as “yielding” and the “dogs” were well out from the rail.
“She looked to me like the
best one out there today,” said Arlington
Park clocker Bobby
Belpedio. “She was all business and seemed to know exactly what she was
doing.”
The Beverly D. is restricted
to fillies and mares and has become known as the Arlington Million’s sister race
since its inception. Along with the Secretariat Stakes, the trio of
Saturday’s International Festival of turf races are the only three Grade I
events run in Illinois
each year.
Mark Hawtin’s Irish-bred
Wigmore Hall, who will run in Saturday’s Arlington Million and is familiar to
American racing fans for finishing second in last summer’s Secretariat Stakes,
went five furlongs over the local lawn in 54.80 with exercise rider Gillian
Dolman astride.
Naipaul and Terikchand Chatterpaul’s
Mission Approved, third choice in the morning line for the Million and the
winner of the Grade I Manhattan Handicap at Belmont
Park on Belmont Stakes
Day June 11, went for a gallop on the grass Thursday morning.
Castleton Lyons’ Gio Ponti,
winner of the 2009 Arlington Million, runner-up last year and in a position to
become the first two-time Million winner on Saturday, went out on the Polytrack
Thursday morning, backed up to the starting gate and then stood in the gate for
several minutes.
French-bred Zack Hall, owned by Matthieu
Offenstadt, Sylvain Fargeon, Patrick Offenstadt and Mikel Delzangles, breezed
three furlongs on the Polytrack in 40.80. Zack Hall will be making his
first start outside of France
in Saturday’s Arlington Million.
Michael Deegan’s Pachattack,
sixth in last summer’s Beverly D. despite dwelling at the start and winner of
this summer’s Grade III Arlington Matron over the Polytrack, cantered on the
grass Thursday morning prior to Saturday’s Beverly D. with jockey Florent
Geroux in the irons.