Ginobili in career-best form for Cigar Mile

OZONE PARK, N.Y. – Grade 1 stakes are never meant to be easy, and Saturday’s Grade 1 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct is no exception. The good news for the 4-year-old gelding Ginobili, however, is at least he won’t have to face Life Is Good, to whom he ran second in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile on Nov. 6 at Del Mar.

“Who knows? He could be the best horse in the country,” Richard Baltas, the trainer of Ginobili, said of Life Is Good. “We’ll find out in the Pegasus.”

The Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 29 at Gulfstream Park is where Life Is Good and Knicks Go, the presumptive Horse of the Year, are expected to meet. The Cigar Mile, a one-turn mile race is where Ginobili could vie for favoritism in a seven- or eight-horse field whose top contenders include Independence Hall, Following Sea, Code of Honor, and Americanrevolution. Others expected for the race are Plainsman, Olympiad, and Pipeline. Dennis’ Moment, as of Monday, was still a possibility.

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Prior to his runner-up finish in the Dirt Mile, Ginobili had won an allowance race at Santa Anita and the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien at Del Mar. Ginobili’s last three races – which have produced his three best speed figures – have come with the addition of blinkers.

In his first two starts of the year, which followed a seven-month layoff after ankle surgery, Ginobili ran several lengths off the early leaders and never threatened. Baltas thinks Ginobili runs better when he is involved early on, and had his assistant work Ginobili in blinkers at San Luis Rey Downs over the summer.

“My assistant was really happy with the way he responded,” he said.

Ginobili went on to go wire to wire in a one-mile allowance at Del Mar, earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 104. He then won the seven-furlong Pat O’Brien on Aug. 28 at Del Mar.

In the Dirt Mile, Ginobili challenged Life Is Good at the quarter pole, but was turned aside, finishing 5 3/4 lengths back while holding second. Baltas, who owns the horse with Slam Dunk Racing, Jerry McLanahan, and Michael Nentwig, said his partners mentioned the possibility of running in the Cigar “as long as he bounced out of the race well, which it seemed he did.”

Ginobili has had two works since the Breeders’ Cup, both at San Luis Rey Downs. He arrived in New York on Saturday and on his first morning at the track was greeted by snow showers.

“I have a nice little video of him going to the track in the snow,” Baltas said. “Kind of cute.”

Ginobili will be the starting highweight at 122 pounds in the Cigar Mile, followed by Independence Hall (121), Code of Honor (120), Following Sea (119), Plainsman (119), Americanrevolution (117), Olympiad (114), and Pipeline (114). Dennis’ Moment would carry 117 should he run.

Baltas was expected to arrive in New York on Tuesday. This will be his first starter at Aqueduct as well as the first mount here for his jockey, Drayden Van Dyke.