Santin surges in final furlong to take Arlington Million

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Santin wore down front-running Smooth Like Strait in what developed into a two-horse race Saturday in winning the Grade 1 Arlington Million over the Churchill Downs turf.

Smooth Like Strait led from the start of the 1 1/8-mile Million, but Tyler Gaffalione, riding Santin, never let him get too far away. Passing the quarter-pole, the leading duo had opened daylight on the rest, with Santin dominating in the final furlong for a 1 3/4-length triumph.

This was the second Grade 1 score over the new Churchill turf for Santin, a 4-year-old Godolphin homebred colt trained by Brendan Walsh. The son of Distorted Humor returned $6.90 as the third wagering choice after finishing in 1:46.88 over a course rated good. Two starts back, he won the Grade 1 Old Forester Turf Classic on the May 7 Kentucky Derby undercard.

“We were in a good spot,” Gaffalione said. “Around the far turn, the other horse (Smooth Like Strait) came out on me a little bit, but I knew I had a lot of horse beneath me.”

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Sacred Life closed to be third, another 5 3/4 lengths back, when edging fourth-finisher Set Piece, the 21-10 favorite, by a head.

The 40th Million lost some of its pace with the early scratch of longshot Megacity, leaving a field of eight older horses. Nonetheless, Smooth Like Strait, the 23-10 second choice, had no easy time on the front end as Gaffalione nudged Santin into close proximity of the leader even before the field wheeled onto the backside.

“We knew we couldn’t let Smooth Like Strait get an easy lead,” Walsh said. “Our horse has plenty of pace, and in his better races he’s never been too far off. We really didn’t take him out of his game, anyway.”

As Santin edged away down the stretch, Gaffalione only showed Santin his whip as Santin registered his fourth win from eight overall starts. He earned $601,400 from the $1 million purse to increase his bankroll to $1,437,100.

“He ran a very brave race today,” Walsh said. “He’s just a good horse, a very good horse.”

The Million represents another major success for Godolphin and Walsh with an older horse at Churchill. Before the Old Forester and Million with Santin, they teamed last year to win the Grade 2 Alysheba, Grade 2 Stephen Foster, and Grade 1 Clark with the since-retired Maxfield.

Smooth Like Strait, a California shipper trained by Michael McCarthy, now has finished second or third in seven straight races, all of them Grade 1 or Grade 2, after a victory in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile on May 31.

“My horse ran his race like he always does,” said his rider, John Velazquez.

After the top four, the order was Cavalry Charge, Admission Office, Cellist, and Field Pass.

The $2 exacta paid $20.78, the $1 trifecta (6-4-2) returned $38.38, and the 10-cent superfecta (6-4-2-1) was worth $8.32.

This was the first Million ever run at the flagship track of Churchill Downs Inc., the corporation that last September shuttered the suburban Chicago track Arlington Park, the longtime host since the Million was first run in 1981.

“When I first came to America,” said Walsh, a native of Ireland, “the first track I came to was Arlington. I always wanted to win the Arlington Million, so this is fantastic, no matter where it’s run. We’ll take it.”

“It’s so special to win this race,” said Gaffalione, who had never ridden in the Million before. “Its history speaks for itself and I’m glad we were able to be a part of it.”

The Million and Beverly D. were the only races contested on a Bermuda-hybrid turf course that has been highly problematic since it was first used April 30. Both races were dominated by front-runners as closers such as Set Piece labored mightily to catch up, and several jockeys were not particularly complimentary of the surface in their comments after riding those races. The course had not been used since June 10 following a fatal breakdown in a race.

“Of course there was concern with the course,” Walsh said after the Million. “But this horse had shown he handled it fine.”

Estimated ontrack attendance on a sunny day with temperatures in the low 80s was just short of 5,000.

Racing at Churchill returns Sept. 15 for the 12-day September meet. It remains unclear whether the turf will be used during that meet or at the fall meet in November.