Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile: City of Light still on the improve

City of Light will bring a good deal of upside into the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 3 at Churchill Downs – despite the fact that he’s already a multiple Grade 1 winner and millionaire.

“He’s lightly raced, still developing, getting better all the time,” trainer Michael McCarthy said.

City of Light is a 4-year-old son of Quality Road owned by William Warren Jr. and his wife, Suzanne, who experienced the height of Breeders’ Cup success in 2005 when their Saint Liam won the Classic. City of Light has won 4 of 9 career starts, with his biggest victories coming in the Grade 1 Malibu and Grade 1 Triple Bend – both at home at Santa Anita – and the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap over Accelerate.

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“I think there’s three races he could run in – the Sprint, the Dirt Mile, or the Classic,” McCarthy said. “He’s that versatile. He broke his maiden very impressively going three-quarters at Del Mar. He’s won two Grade 1 races at seven-eighths, won the Oaklawn Handicap at a mile and an eighth, and was a respectable third in the Gold Cup [at Santa Anita] on a racetrack he didn’t seem to relish that day.”

City of Light is probable for the Grade 1 Dirt Mile at one turn, but he could be cross-entered in the Classic.

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“I’m speaking to Mr. Warren about the possibility, depending on field size, but we’ll see how things go,” McCarthy said.

City of Light is coming off a runner-up finish in the Grade 1 Forego over seven furlongs on Aug. 25 at Saratoga.

“I thought, all things considered, his Forego race was very good,” McCarthy said. “He broke very hard, and it looks like the ground came out from underneath him. He probably spotted them a half-length or so. On the backside, he was three, four abreast, then was hung out a little wider than we would have liked in the turn.

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“We seemed to run a little further than everyone else, beaten a length and a half. He came out of it great.”

City of Light has since been working at Santa Anita, with his latest move a bullet five-eighths in 59 seconds on Sunday. McCarthy said the horse could have his final Breeders’ Cup work at Churchill.

“We’ll keep an eye on the weather, what’s happening in Kentucky,” he said. “We’re maybe thinking about sending him out there and getting a work over the racetrack. If the weather is not [accommodating], he’ll have his last work here at Santa Anita. He’s a horse that takes shipping well.”

McCarthy said Javier Castellano has the mount on City of Light.