Midnight Cello gets smart ride in Hanshin Cup victory
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
The jock on Hogy had the lead a furlong into the Hanshin Cup, but Hogy drifted over to the two path, and Florent Geroux on Midnight Cello did not hesitate. He sent Midnight Cello up into the hole, out to the lead, and on to an easy victory Saturday in the Grade 3, $100,000 Hanshin Cup at Arlington.
Speed and the rail – the rail, in particular – have ruled the Polytrack all this week during Arlington races, and Geroux’s move probably secured success. It made good on a $1,500 bet – the cost of supplementing Midnight Cello to the Hanshin when entries were taken Wednesday – made by owner Patricia’s Hope LLC and trainer Mike Tomlinson. That confident move came despite the fact Midnight Cello was making his first start on a synthetic racing surface.
Midnight Cello actually broke poorly and was last in the first strides, but Geroux, as aware as anyone about how the track surface has been playing, quickly urged his mount forward along the rail, establishing the position that allowed him to slip onto the lead. Setting splits of 24.37 seconds and 47.31, Midnight Cello was threatened at the top of the stretch by Hogy, but he did what inside leaders have been doing all week at Arlington, dashing away from his pursuers to win with ease. The margin at the wire was 5 1/2 lengths, Midnight Cello getting the one-turn mile in a quick 1:34.83.
Mister Marti Gras did what he always does in the Hanshin – he finished second. It was the third year in a row the venerable gelding filled the race’s runner-up spot, while Hogy, who won the race in 2013 and ran unplaced last year, faded a bit and finished third.
Midnight Cello ($13) was claimed four starts ago in December at Gulfstream by these connections for $100,000, and after finishing fifth, fourth, and seventh, one had to wonder if the horse was worth the money. But in one fell swoop Saturday, Midnight Cello, a 5-year-old Midnight Lute gelding bred by Carol Vogel, earned almost $60,000 of it back, and Geroux more than earned his 10 percent cut.