Breeders' Cup Mile: Mondialiste, Suedois worth watching at Keeneland

Mondialiste might be an Irish-bred, England-based horse, but his two most important wins, in the 2015 Woodbine Mile and the 2016 Arlington Million, have come in North America. The overseas strategy has worked out so well that Mondialiste’s trainer, David O’Meara, has not just Mondialiste in Kentucky this week for the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile, but also a second horse for the race, Suedois.

The two English shippers are among 14 entered in the Shadwell, a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Mile, as well as the last major North American prep for the race.

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The race includes several BC Mile hopefuls such as Heart to Heart, Miss Temple City, and Ballagh Rocks. Trainer Chad Brown entered Offering Plan, but absent from the full field is the Brown-trained Time Test, who Brown a week ago said had been pointed to the Keeneland fixture.

As for the O’Meara pair, they shipped separately, Mondialiste arriving Sept. 29, Suedois the following day. Daniel Tudhope, who rode Mondialiste to his Million win, is aboard Suedois, with Feargal Lynch back aboard Mondialiste, whom he piloted to the 7-year-old gelding’s Woodbine Mile win two autumns ago.

Mondialiste finished fourth in the 2017 Woodbine Mile, and while there was no beating World Approval that day, O’Meara believes Mondialiste might’ve had a chance for second with a different trip.

“I thought he was a little too far back,” he said.

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Suedois is one year younger than Mondialiste and looks the more interesting horse of the two. Almost exclusively a sprinter throughout his career, Suedois was stretched to a mile last out and won a Group 2 race in Ireland. O’Meara said Suedois had been considered for last Sunday’s seven-furlong Prix de la Foret at Chantilly, a race in which he was third last year, before the decision was made to try him at Keeneland.

“He won over a mile last time, and this is an easy sharp mile at Keeneland for more money than the Foret,” O’Meara said. “He’s just a good, versatile horse, Six furlongs is still fine, but he could go up to a mile. He’s run good races on all sorts of ground.”

The BC Mile is possible for both Suedois and Mondialiste, but O’Meara isn’t making any commitments.

“Let’s get this weekend out of the way first,” he said.

As for the Prix de la Foret, its winner, Aclaim, likely is being retired to stud, and there might well be no horses coming out of that race and into the BC Mile. There is one more European race that could produce Mile starters, the Queen Elizabeth II on British Champions Day at Ascot. Ribchester, the ante-post Mile favorite, will run in the QE II, but while the Mile is in his connections’ plans, Champions Day comes just two weeks before the Breeders’ Cup this year, and trainer Richard Fahey will assess Ribchester’s post-QE II condition before committing him to Del Mar.

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