Carnival Colors possible for Lassie after impressive win

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Five and a half furlongs was too short for the 2-year-old filly Carnival Colors, who finished third at that distance while making her career debut here July 27. In fact, the 1 1/16 miles that Carnival Colors raced in an off-the-turf maiden race Thursday at Arlington might also have been shorter than ideal, since Carnival Colors galloped out around the clubhouse turn like a filly who was just getting warmed up.

A furlong past the finish, her competition had been left back on the horizon line, and even at the finish, she had 11 1/2 lengths on her nearest pursuer.

Carnival Colors, never asked to run by Mitchell Murrill and moving with an encouraging, fluid stride, was timed in 1:45.21 and got a 73 Beyer Speed Figure. Trained by Mike Stidham for Godolphin, Carnival Colors is by Distorted Humor and out of Carnival Court, and her dam is a half-sister to the great Royal Delta.

Stidham’s main string resides at Fair Hill in Maryland this summer, but he has enough Godolphin 2-year-olds to split between there and Arlington. Carnival Colors has been here since she left Florida for the racetrack, and if she bounces out of her sharp maiden win well enough, Stidham said, she’ll be considered for the Arlington-Washington Lassie on Sept. 8.

◗ Betting handle on the Arlington Million card Aug. 11 was $16,446,137, up almost $2 million (more than 15 percent) from the 2017 Million card. Both programs had 12 races, but the 2017 card included the American St. Leger, which was not run this year, and placed the Secretariat Stakes, which went with a short field, earlier on the program.