Perfect on the year, Johannes must prove himself again in City of Hope Mile

Johannes has a perfect record in three starts this year that will be highly difficult, and perhaps impossible, to sustain over the next five weeks.

A 4-year-old colt, Johannes will be favored in the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile on turf Saturday at Santa Anita. In the spring, Johannes won his first two starts of the year at Santa Anita in the Grade 3 American Stakes at a mile in April and Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile in May, both on turf.

A Saturday win would lead to a start against an international field in the Breeders’ Cup Mile on Nov. 2 at Del Mar, a level of competition far above what Johannes has raced against this year.

“It’s a good question to see where he’ll fit,” trainer Tim Yakteen said in the middle of the week. “Time will tell. Hopefully, we’ll have the opportunity to see where it is.”

The winner of the $200,000 City of Hope Mile receives a fees-paid berth to the BC Mile.

Johannes, owned by Joe and Debby McCloskey, meets two principal opponents for the first time in the City of Hope – Conclude, winner of the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile on turf Aug. 31, and the rapidly developing 3-year-old Trikari, who has won four stakes this year and will start against older horses for the first time.

:: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports

“This race came up strong,” Yakteen said.

Johannes has not raced since he won the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes at 1 1/8 miles on turf July 28 at Del Mar. Ridden by Umberto Rispoli, who has the mount Saturday, Johannes stalked a slow pace, took the lead in early stretch, and won by a convincing 2 1/2 lengths.

In the Shoemaker Mile, Johannes chased a faster pace and closed from fifth to win by a half-length.

“His versatility is his asset,” Yakteen said. “Umberto can ride him how he needs to as the race unfolds. He can come from out of it and he can sit close, and he’s fast.”

Trikari is the lone 3-year-old in the City of Hope Mile, his first start since a win by 2 1/4 lengths in the Grade 2 Secretariat Stakes at a mile on turf Aug. 11 at Colonial Downs.

“He’s a lovely horse,” trainer Graham Motion said Wednesday. “It’s a big ask. I gave him plenty of time waiting for this spot.”

Conclude, one of three runners in the nine-horse field trained by Phil D’Amato, starts from the outside post and is expected to lead. Conclude won his fourth stakes in the Del Mar Mile by setting the pace and holding off a late threat from the D’Amato-trained Almendares, who is part of the City of Hope Mile field.

“I expected him to be on or near the lead,” D’Amato said of Conclude. “He’s run his best races rolling along.”

Almendares is a threat from the back of the field and is capable of a surprise, D’Amato said.

“We took him farther back in the Del Mar Mile, and I think in another jump or two it might have had a different outcome,” he said.

D’Amato also starts Easter, who won three consecutive stakes in the final months of 2023 but is winless in three starts this year. Easter was sixth in the Shoemaker Mile and fifth in the Eddie Read.

“When he puts it all together, he’s as good as any in the division,” D’Amato said.

Of the nine entrants in the City of Hope Mile only Almendares has yet to win a stakes. Runners such as Astronomer, who was third in the Del Mar Mile, and Du Jour, winner of the Grade 1 Frank Kilroe Mile at Santa Anita in March, are capable of top-three finishes.

:: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!

Du Jour was fourth by three-quarters of a length in the Del Mar Mile, failing to perform to trainer Bob Baffert’s expectations.

“I was disappointed in his last race,” Baffert said. “He didn’t have any punch. He’s come back and worked well since then.”

Du Jour has a closing style and will need a favorable trip from an inside post.

“He needs so much luck,” Baffert said. “It’s a tough race. Yakteen’s horse looks really good. He’s turned out to be a good horse.”

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.