Mitole streaks into Vanderbilt Handicap

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – To say the first half of Mitole’s 2019 campaign was an unequivocal success would be an understatement. Consider that the 4-year-old son of Eskendereya won all four of his starts and a pair of Grade 1 races, including the prestigious Metropolitan Handicap, during just a little more than a three-month span from March 2 through June 8.

On Saturday, Mitole will kick off the second portion of the season, one his connections are hoping will end in Breeders’ Cup success. He will be the overwhelming favorite and highweight in the $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga. The Grade 1 dash drew a field of seven that also includes Grade 1 winner Imperial Hint, multiple Grade 3 winner Firenze Fire, and speedy Strike Power.

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Mitole will be turning back to six furlongs in the Vanderbilt after winning Grade 1 races at seven furlongs and a mile in his previous two starts. He will carry 125 pounds, conceding from two to nine pounds to his six rivals, while breaking from the rail under regular rider Rafael Santana Jr.

“This is his first step back for the second half of the year, and it’s a pretty challenging spot given the weight and post and the fact he’s backing up from the mile,” said Steve Asmussen, who trains Mitole for owners Corinne and William Heiligbrodt.

Asmussen’s face brightened noticeably when he was asked to look back briefly on Mitole’s performance in the Met Mile. Mitole held on tenaciously for a three-quarter-length decision over McKinzie, with two-time Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow finishing just another neck back in third place. The victory was the seventh in a row for Mitole, dating back to an allowance win nearly 15 months earlier at Oaklawn Park, and earned him a 108 Beyer Speed Figure, matching the best of his career, which was earned earlier this spring in Oaklawn’s Grade 3 Count Fleet Sprint Handicap.

“Obviously, the Met Mile was the pinnacle of his racing career so far,” Asmussen said. “Not only because of the extreme significance of the race historically, but because of the nature of the competition he beat that day. But now we have to move forward and focus our attention on the Vanderbilt, where the competition is strong again and the post is not going to be ideal, especially coming out of such a hard race as the Met.”

Asmussen said he’s been pleased with the way Mitole has trained since shipping to Saratoga earlier this summer. He has four works under his belt over the Oklahoma training track in preparation for his Saratoga debut.

Imperial Hint has not started since a third-place finish behind X Y Jet and Matera Sky in the Dubai Golden Shaheen on March 30. Now 6, Imperial Hint finished third as the 1-5 favorite in his only other start in 2019, the Pelican Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 16.

Trainer Luis Carvajal Jr. is seeking to get Imperial Hint back to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint for a third consecutive year. Imperial Hint finished second, beaten a length by Roy H, at Del Mar in 2017, and third, five lengths behind the same rival, as the 8-5 favorite last fall at Churchill Downs.

Imperial Hint has had only four works, all bullets at Monmouth Park, since the Golden Shaheen.

Strike Power has cycled back to top form for trainer Mark Hennig and is coming off perhaps his best race yet, a second-place finish in the Grade 2 True North behind the odds-on Catalina Cruiser. It was a strong effort, considering he was challenged for the lead nearly the entire way by Recruiting Ready before succumbing by just a half-length to Catalina Cruiser.

Strike Power carries 117 pounds and receives eight pounds from Mitole.

“He’s doing great. but it’s obviously a big step up facing Mitole and a couple of those others, Imperial Hint and Firenze Fire,” Hennig said. “If he’s second or third best to Mitole, it shows us he fits in this division, and we might as well find out now. We’re getting significant weight, and if there’s ever the opportune time to take him on it’s now, when he’s backing down from a mile to three-quarters.”

Strike Power will break to Mitole’s immediate outside in post 2 and has the speed to take the race to him right from the outset under John Velazquez.

“We’ll leave the strategy up to Johnny as a game-time decision, but if he breaks like he can, he might be shifty enough to make the lead if the opportunity presents itself,” Hennig said.

Firenze Fire finished fifth, 4 3/4 lengths behind Mitole, in the Metropolitan while hung wide turning for home over a racetrack that seemed to be favoring the inside paths. Firenze Fire has been near unbeatable at six furlongs, winning three of his four starts at that distance including the Grade 3 Gallant Bob last fall at Parx Racing and the Runhappy Stakes at Belmont Park this past May.