D'Amato mulling best route to BC Mile for Midnight Storm

DEL MAR, Calif. – Midnight Storm emerged from his victory in the Grade 2 Eddie Read on Sunday in good condition, and now trainer Phil D’Amato has set his sights on the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile on Nov. 5 at Santa Anita. D’Amato said he needs to decide in the next couple of weeks the best way to get there, either with a race in between or by having Midnight Storm come into the Breeders’ Cup fresh.

D’Amato said Midnight Storm could run here in the Del Mar Mile on Aug. 21 or wait for a prep race at Santa Anita’s fall meeting in advance of the Breeders’ Cup. One thing D’Amato said he won’t do is run Midnight Storm twice before the Breeders’ Cup. It’s either one or none.

Midnight Storm earned a fees-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Mile by winning the Shoemaker Mile last month over the same course and distance as the Breeders’ Cup Mile. He races for his co-breeder, Alex Venneri, and the Little Red Feather Racing partnership.