Treasure Beach,
owned by Derrick Smith, Mrs. John Magnier and Michael Tabor, ran down the
pacesetting Ziyarid in the late stages to post a neck victory in the Grade I
$400,000 Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park on August 13 to give European
invaders the top two spots in one of North America’s most prestigious races for
3-year-old turf horses.
Colm O’Donoghue was aboard the Aidan
O’Brien-trained son of Galileo, who covered the mile and a quarter over a turf
course rated “yielding” after a mid-afternoon thunderstorm in 2:03.91.
Already a Group I winner in his native
Ireland off his victory in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, Treasure Beach
further solidified his credentials as one of the best sophomores in
training. He picked up $232,800 to boost his bankroll to $1,869,695 while
bettering his overall record to five wins from 10 starts.
“He wasn’t doing much,” O’Donoghue said of Treasure
Beach. “He was
finding it quite easy in the homestretch. He just kept plugging on for
me. He’s very adaptable and can go on any ground.”
Ziyarid established the pace in the
race, leading through fractions of 25.43 seconds, 50.09 seconds, 1:14.64 and
1:39.92 while continuing to resist the challenge of the winner until deep
stretch.
“He had a perfect race,” said Ziyarid’s trainer Alain de
Royer-Dupre. “He was beaten by a true Group I horse. I’m delighted
we came. I think the horse proved himself.”
“He ran pretty well,” added his jockey, Christophe
Lemaire. “He was beaten by a Derby
winner and that’s not too bad, is it? He gave a great performance.”
Banned, under Garrett Gomez, was steadied a bit on the
backstretch and remained in contention into upper stretch but was no match when
it counted late.
“I had a real good trip going into the first turn but the
pace was just slow enough that he wasn’t liking it and felt pressure from the
other horses,” Gomez said. “He got rank with me and turning for home it cost him
a little bit. If he had settled in a little bit more, I think he may have
been able to outrun those horses. He was handling the course real well.”
The Secretariat Stakes serves as the third leg of the
Mid-America Triple. All in Stable’s Willcox Inn – winner of the series’
first two legs, the $100,000 Arlington Classic on May 28 and the Grade II
American Derby on July 9 – finished fourth in the nine-horse field.
“I thought I got him pretty much in a good spot,” said
Robby Albarado, who rode Willcox Inn, “but then at the last part of it he
wasn’t making up any ground. But then again, those were some pretty good
horses that finished in front of me. I can’t make any excuses. I
thought he was getting over the ground all right.”
Casino Host, Newsdad, Derby Kitten and
Suntracer completed the order of finish. L’Aiglon was pulled up on the
backstretch and did not complete the course.
Treasure
Beach paid $5, $3.80 and $2.40.
Ziyarid returned $8.20 and $4.40. Banned paid $2.20.