In the $150,000
Arcadia Stakes, Mr. Commons came from off the pace to beat Willyconker by a
length under Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith.
Smith angled Mr.
Commons down toward the rail in midstretch, found a hole between horses and
took the lead under Smith's urging to beat older horses for the first time. The
4-year-old colt ran one mile on the turf in 1:33.41 and paid $2.80, $2.40 and
$2.10 as the 2-5 favorite for trainer John Shirreffs.
"He loves to be in
the pocket, so I took the chance," Smith said. "I have so much
confidence he'll go wherever I point him, and he did. He went through another
tight hole again and did it with a lot of courage."
Ireland-bred
Willyconker returned $4.80 and $3.40, while Massone was another half-length
back in third and paid $6.40 to show. There was a stewards' inquiry into the
stretch run, but there were no changes to the order of finish.