Midnight Storm pointing to Met Mile at Belmont

ARCADIA, Calif. – Midnight Storm, who couldn’t quite hold off Shaman Ghost going 1 1/4 miles when finishing second last Saturday in the Santa Anita Handicap, will look toward the Met Mile on Belmont Stakes Day at Belmont Park as the next opportunity to get a Grade 1 victory on dirt, trainer Phil D’Amato said Thursday.

Midnight Storm already has won a Grade 1 stakes on grass, and his connections have focused his 2017 campaign on trying to get a Grade 1 win on dirt.

D’Amato said he anticipated Midnight Storm having one race between now and the Met Mile, but that race has yet to be determined by him and the partnership that owns Midnight Storm.

“We’ve put together a list of races,” he said. “The two-out goal is the Met Mile. We’re trying to find the right kind of race before.”