Mondialiste charges late to capture Woodbine Mile

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – The English raider Mondialiste rallied furiously from last on the turn under Irish jockey Feargal Lynch to take Sunday’s Grade 1, $1 million Woodbine Mile over the 2-1 favorite Lea.

The rapid Southern California comebacker Obviously opened up a five-length lead on the backstretch, setting quick fractions of 23.21 seconds, 46.63, and 1:11.52 over the yielding turf. Reporting Star stalked in second and took dead aim at Obviously early in the stretch as Mondialiste began to mount a rally from the back of the pack.

Mondialiste ($9.60) closed between Reporting Star and Lea in deep stretch and got home by a half-length in a time of 1:36.66.

“I was a little bit concerned about how far back we were early,” said Lynch. “We saved a lot of ground and stuck to the plan to come late. It’s a long stretch, and we took our time. The horse has an awesome turn of foot. I knew the leaders would come back. He just really galloped over the top of them. It made my job easy.”

Obviously held on gamely for third, while Reporting Star flattened out to finish just behind Kaigun in fifth in a field reduced to nine with the scratches of Grand Arch and Za Approval.

Joel Rosario said his mount, Grade 1 winner Lea, didn’t disappoint in his first turf start in two years.

“He really handled the turf well and put in a very good run,” said Rosario. “It’s too bad the other horse came with such a strong run.”

Winning trainer David O’Meara said the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile on Oct. 31 at Keeneland is on the radar for Mondialiste.

“We’ll have to consider it,” said O’Meara. “Today was the big race we had in mind to try and win a [Grade 1]. We’ll just take the horse home and see how he is. He’s very tough. You can ride him whatever way you want, really. He’s always there for you. He always finishes well.”

Mondialiste, a 5-year-old son of Galileo, earned $600,000 for owners Geoff and Sandra Turnbull in his first race with Lasix.