Breeders' Cup Mile: Tepin will be hard to dethrone
Tepin, Tepin, Tepin. And still more Tepin. You cannot talk about North American turf racing at the moment without the remarkable mare’s name coming up.
Tepin won the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Mile, and with nothing but wins on her form again this year, including an historic excursion to England, where she won the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes in June, Tepin remains the leader of the BC Mile division as summer turns to autumn.
Get swept up in it all, and one might envision the BC Mile as a walkover, but there’s strong competition pointed toward the race this year. The Aidan O’Brien-trained 3-year-old filly Alice Springs looked tremendous in winning the Matron Stakes on Sept. 10 in Ireland. Mondialiste seemed like his best self again in winning the Arlington Million, and he quietly had a difficult trip when second to Tepin in the 2015 BC Mile.
Mondialiste could make his next start in the Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland, which also will include Tourist, who won the Grade 1 Fourstardave at Saratoga and steadily has improved in the last 15 months.
Because of a setback, Ironicus recently has fallen under the radar, but he reportedly is doing well again and is aimed at the Shadwell. Tepin could run in that race or go the same day in the First Lady, a filly-restricted race that will include Celestine, who was brilliant when last seen in the Just a Game on the Belmont Stakes card and is a Mile candidate, too.
Sitting and waiting at home is at least one formidable horse, if not a two-headed monster, for trainer Phil D’Amato. D’Amato has Midnight Storm training up to the BC Mile and could also run Obviously. Obviously, a seemingly ageless 8-year-old, finished ninth in the 2015 Mile, but turf at Keeneland is not his game at all. In two previous BC Mile starts at Santa Anita, Obviously was fifth and third, but D’Amato said Obviously is “50-50” between the Mile and the BC Turf Sprint. Obviously races Oct. 8 in the City of Hope Mile, after which a decision on his Breeders’ Cup status will be made.
Midnight Storm is half of Obviously’s age but might have hit generally stronger form in the last year than Obviously ever has reached. Midnight Storm has won three in a row, and he beat Tourist this past June going a mile at Santa Anita in the Grade 1 Shoemaker.
“To me, being on our home surface on a fast turf course, hopefully it could be both of their years to have a good shot to win,” D’Amato said.
Midnight Storm has plenty of speed, but while he has been on the lead in his recent races, he has learned to ration it.
“Obviously, he’s definitely got one way to go – on the lead,” said D’Amato. “Midnight Storm is much more tractable. He can stalk and pounce or be on the lead; he’s gotten that good right now. And he’s a horse that loves to fight. He loves seeing a horse’s eyeballs and going at him, putting his head in front.”
Midnight Storm worked a maintenance five furlongs Monday. D’Amato said he’ll “slowly turn the screws” with a couple works of five furlongs and two more at six furlongs leading up to the Mile. He’s confident that Midnight Storm will turn in a competitive race, but there’s that name that just won’t go away.
“Tepin. The only X factor to me is Tepin,” D’Amato said. “But she’s going to come to the West Coast on a rock-hard track. Maybe that helps us.”
Maybe it does. But for now, all roads to the Mile lead through the mare.
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