Castledale captures San Francisco Breeders' Cup Mile

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Favored Castledale ($5) split rivals at the eighth pole and held off Adreamisborn to the wire to win the $111,250 Grade 2 at Bay Meadows on Saturday.

Capturing his third graded stakes in the United States, Castledale was content to stay on the rail in midpack behind a slow pace set by Night Patrol, who went the first quarter in 25.41 seconds and opening half in 49.68 in the one-mile race over the Longden Turf Course.

The pace picked up considerably through the third quarter, which went in 23.94 seconds.

Castledale moved into closer contention while remaining on the rail. He had no room at the quarter pole as Adreamisborn began his move against Night Patrol and Imitation from a three-wide spot.

Rene Douglas, aboard Castledale, had plenty of horse but had to wait patiently as the field moved into the stretch. When a hole opened between Night Patrol and Imitation, Douglas quickly split the two and took the lead with a quick burst.

But Adreamisborn was running well and never gave way in the final furlong, which was run in 11.85 seconds as the two began to pull away from the rest of the field. Castledale finished one-half length in front, winning in 1:37.40. Aly Bubba, the longest shot on the board at 52-to-1, was third, 3 1/2 lengths behind Adreamisborn, while edging Terroplane by a head.

"This horse is not going to win by 10 lengths," Douglas said. "When he sees he's clear, he waits.

"I wanted to wait as long as I could. It didn't take him long to get through that hole. He has a small kick but a good one. I felt confident the whole time. The timing was perfect, but we had to have it."

Waiting is a key, according to trainer Jeff Mullins, whether to clear up the colt's foot problems or in the race itself.

"It's all timing with this horse," he said. "He's pretty versatile. He's got a high cruising speed, and he'll go all day."

Russell Baze, aboard runner-up Adreamisborn, said, "I think I win if the hole doesn't open up, but my horse ran great. There's no shame in getting beat by a good horse like him."

Castledale, a $180,000 purchase from his native Ireland as a 2-year-old, earned $55,000 for owners Frank Lyons and Greg Knee, lifting his career earnings to $634,623.

He won the Grade 3 Generous on the turf in his U.S. debut as a 2-year-old and captured the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby last year.