Midnight Storm returning to familiar footing in Gold Cup at Santa Anita

ARCADIA, Calif. – It is one of the oldest excuses in racing, and sometimes valid – the horse did not like the racetrack. Anyone who watched Midnight Storm struggle last weekend in the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap would be hard-pressed to dispute jockey Mike Smith’s post-race analysis.

Midnight Storm finished third as the odds-on favorite, after which Smith told trainer Phil D’Amato, “He didn’t handle the track that well.”

Smith said Midnight Storm “tried to accelerate, but the horse was going more up and down than forward.”

“He couldn’t get find his gears,” D’Amato said. “He’d be trying, but he wouldn’t be going anywhere.”

It looked that way on a television monitor. Midnight Storm set the pace, but was unable to open up on his rivals. He tired to third while regressing from his most recent start, a runner-up finish behind Shaman Ghost in the Santa Anita Handicap.

Midnight Storm, Grade 1 winner on turf and Grade 2 winner on dirt, has returned to D’Amato’s stable. D'Amato said Midnight Storm is likely to make his next start in the Grade 1, $500,000 Gold Cup, a 1 1/4-mile race on May 27 at Santa Anita.

Midnight Storm has won 10 races and $1,681,110 from 23 starts. He is owned by his breeder, Alex Venneri, and Little Red Feather Racing.