Big Blue Kitten tops Brown trio entered for Million

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Thirteen horses have been entered to run Saturday in the Arlington Million – nearly twice as many as ran last year.

The Million, Beverly D., Secretariat, and American St. Leger were drawn Tuesday, but entries weren’t publicly revealed until noon Wednesday.

Chad Brown trains three of the Million runners, though one of them, Shining Copper, is entered as a pacemaker for Big Blue Kitten. Ken and Sarah Ramsey own both of those horses, while Slumber, Brown’s third horse in the race, is owned by a partnership that purchased him last fall.

Hardest Core beat just six rivals in the 2014 Million, and while 13 runners contested the race in 2013, a field that large hadn’t started since 2004.

Brown holds a strong hand in the race, with Slumber and Big Blue Kitten having filled out the top two slots in the last two major long-distance turf races in the eastern half of the U.S. – the Manhattan and the United Nations. Slumber, with Irad Ortiz Jr. named to ride, drew post 2 and was installed as the 7-2 second choice by Arlington oddsmaker Joe Kristufek. Big Blue Kitten, the 3-1 morning-line favorite, has post 4 and Joe Bravo.

The forecast calls for temperatures in the high 80s and mainly sunny conditions late this week and Saturday. A dry, fast course would especially suit Slumber.

“Firm turf helps him,” Brown said.

Five European-based horses – none established at the Grade 1 level – were entered in the Million, and the draw was unkind to several of them. Belgian Bill drew post 13, Elleval post 12, and Maverick Wave post 11 in a race that starts on the end of the far turn and definitely favors inner and middle draws. The other two overseas horses drew better, with Bookrunner in post 2 and Wake Forest in post 4. Maverick Wave never has won a race this important but has been pointed to the Million for a couple of months by John Gosden, one of the world’s best trainers and a Million winner in 2010 with Debussy, another horse supposedly light on credentials.

The Pizza Man, who was cross-entered in the American St. Leger – a race he won last year – will start in the Million, as will Legendary, who most recently was third in the Manhattan; Quiet Force, the winner of the Arlington Handicap last out; and Triple Threat, a European import who won his only U.S. start but had to be scratched from the Arlington Handicap last month due to illness.

The Grade 1, $700,000 Beverly D. drew a field of 10, and unlike the Million, it has an obviously strong overseas contingent. Euro Charline, who became the first 3-year-old Beverly D. winner in 2014, drew post 8 and has been installed as the 5-2 morning-line favorite, but the 3-year-old Wedding Vow (post 9), from trainer Aidan O’Brien, figures to come in for strong support. Secret Gesture (post 10), Carla Bianca (post 6), and to a lesser extent Lacy (post 1) could produce an all-European trifecta if things break right.

Brown trains the top Americans for this race, too. Stephanie’s Kitten has looked like a mare who has lost a step in her last two starts, but she was narrowly beaten in the 2014 Beverly D. Brown was hoping for a course less than firm for both her and Watsdachances (post 2) but is unlikely to get one. There’s a small chance of storms Thursday night, and the Arlington turf course could be heavily watered before race day.

The Secretariat looks like a showdown between North America’s top 3-year-old grass horse, Force the Pass (post 2), and a strong trio of Europeans headed by the O’Brien-trained Highland Reel (post 6). Highland Reel finished second in the French Derby this year and was followed home that day by fellow Secretariat runner War Dispatch (post 7). Goldstream, a German-trained colt who drew post 3, has gone undefeated while facing lesser competition in Italy and is difficult to assess in terms of quality.

Eleven were entered in the $350,000 American St. Leger, a stayers’ race, but the defending champion, The Pizza Man, has been penciled in for the Million, and it is hard to say who will be favored in his absence. It could be the German horse Lucky Speed, who raced last month at Woodbine, though the Brown-trained and Ramsey-owned Hyper is likely to come in for some support as well.