Bandua doing his best running at Arlington

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – The Bandua camp bandied about trips to Saratoga or Del Mar but in the end decided to take their place in the Arlington Million starting gate here Saturday.

Bandua, trained by Jack Sisterson for Brad Kelley’s Calumet Farm, began his career in Ireland and made his North American debut on the Arlington Million card of 2018 when he finished third in the Secretariat Stakes, trained at the time by Ireland-based Dermot Weld. Bandua, though he had run well on several occasions, came into the July 13 Arlington Handicap on a nine-race trans-Atlantic losing streak before breaking through with a 1 3/4-length victory.

Days after that race, Sisterson said Bandua could next race in the Del Mar Handicap, the Sword Dancer, or the Million, and earlier this week the Million won out.

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“He’s doing so well, and if he’s going to jump up and run well in a race like this, it might be at Arlington,” Sisterson said. “He’s shipped twice now really well into Arlington, and that’s what led to running him in the Million. It might seem like I’m sugar coating things, but I think he’s getting better with each race.”

The Lexington, Ky.-based Sisterson has been shipping horses for races around the country this season and has two more to run here Saturday. Lexitonian, a two-time stakes winner in Maryland this year, will race for the first time on a synthetic surface when he starts in the Bruce D. Memorial. Sisterson said Lexitonian has galloped over the synthetic training track at Keeneland and appeared to take to the surface. He and Calumet also have a second-time-starting maiden 2-year-old named Flap Jack who was fifth on dirt at Ellis Park in his career debut July 13.

“He’s an Oxbow horse we liked first time out,” Sisterson said. “He didn’t break too sharp and he sort of got a bit aggressive early, was wide, and frankly got tired after a huge middle move.”

◗ Magic Wand was cross-entered in the Beverly D. and the Million and remained possible for either race as of Wednesday, according to officials from the International Racing Bureau, which oversees shipping and all the on-ground logistics here for overseas shippers. A decision on which race she’ll contest might not be made until as late as Friday. Her trainer, Aidan O’Brien, also has Hunting Horn in the Million and Fleeting in the Beverly D.

◗ The capable French shipper Intellogent still has time to get right but so far has not loved his first international shipping experience. The colt reportedly acted up on the flight to Chicago, has been a handful in the stables at times, and during a Wednesday jog and gallop on the Arlington main track stopped cold several times and eventually got very washy during his training session.