Saint Leon to wait and see after Arlington Sprint win

Having won the Arlington Sprint for the third time in a row, the 9-year-old Saint Leon finds himself in a familiar midsummer position – a holding pattern.

Saint Leon has made 19 of his last 21 starts in Chicago. He’s a quirky horse with some anxieties, and trainer Michele Boyce, who rarely leaves town, has been averse to shipping Saint Leon. She gave in and tried last summer, with Saint Leon finishing second in an Ellis Park turf-sprint handicap in August and sixth at Euro-style Kentucky Downs in September.

“Every year at the same time, we run into the same thing,” Boyce said. “I certainly don’t want to go back to Ellis. It was just too hot and too hard on him. I don’t think Arlington will have anything for him. At his age, I hate to change anything. He’s used to his groom, used to his routine. But that’s why I sit here wringing my hands.”

Boyce said in the coming days, she’ll take a hard look at turf-sprint races in the region, but Saint Leon runs well fresh, and she will wait as long as necessary to find the right spot for the gelding.