Breeders' Cup Mile: Smooth Like Strait just might get the job done this time
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Smooth Like Strait’s stall was bedded down Monday morning, his Breeders’ Cup name plate affixed above it. The webbing was clipped shut. The stall stood empty.
Smooth Like Strait had galloped Monday morning at Churchill Downs, trainer Michael McCarthy said. He was due to arrive at Keeneland on Monday afternoon, one of the last Breeders’ Cup horses to get here.
Usually, only one horse arrives before Smooth Like Strait.
A winner in seven of his first 15 starts, Smooth Like Strait comes into the Breeders’ Cup Mile on a seven-race losing streak. A string of four straight second-place finishes was interrupted by a third here April 15 in the Maker’s Mark Mile, but Smooth Like Strait got back on track with runner-up performances in the Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita and the Arlington Million at Churchill Downs.
It’s a losing streak filled with excellent performances, including a second in the 2021 Breeders’ Cup Mile to standout winner Space Blues. Charlie Appleby trained Space Blues for Godolphin and William Buick rode him to victory; the same team has the 2022 Mile favorite in Modern Games. Can Smooth Like Strait beat him? Does he want to beat him?
McCarthy still believes that Smooth Like Strait’s close-but-not-quite recent history has more to do with circumstances than psychology. He might have a point. At 1 1/8 miles, the Arlington Million was slightly farther than ideal for Smooth Like Strait, and the one horse who beat him, Santin, absolutely loved the Churchill course. Two races back, trying to win the Shoemaker Mile the second year in a row, Smooth Like Strait chased a breakneck pace, made the lead too soon, and was a sitting duck for ace late-running miler Count Again. The horses that have finished ahead of Smooth Like Strait in his run of seconds – Mo Forza, United, Colonel Liam, and Domestic Spending – are really good.
Smooth Like Strait was supposed to start in the Coolmore Turf Mile here Oct. 8, but a cut over the horse’s knee got a little infected and he had to scratch.
“He runs so well fresh I don’t think it matters,” McCarthy said. “He’s a horse who gets a lot of out of his training.”
So, think long and hard about using Smooth Like Strait underneath in your exotic wagers – but think twice about putting him first.
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