Tour of the Cat romps in Miami Mile

MIAMI - Long or short, turf or dirt it just doesn't matter to Tour of the Cat. The versatile gelding added Monday's $150,000 Miami Mile Breeders' Cup Handicap to an already impressive resume with a 2 1/2-length victory over Last Stand in a race taken off the grass and decided on a "good" main track.

Tour of the Cat set the pace in the Miami Mile, repulsed a bid from Hear no Evil while angling well out in the track leaving the final turn, and was never seriously threatened in the final furlong. Last Stand eased back off the early leaders leaving the clubhouse turn, saved ground and outfinished Lavender's Lad by a head to be second in a scratch-reduced field of 10.

Supah Blitz finished fourth as the 9-10 favorite.

Tour of the Cat was guided to victory by by regular rider Abad Cabassa Jr. and paid $8.60 after running a mile in 1:38.65. He is trained by Myra Mora for the Double G Stables.

"I probably would have run him on the grass, although I didn't want soft turf so I was glad they took it off," said Mora. "He came out of the Smile Sprint with a lot of mucus in his lungs so I sent him to the farm for a month, which is why we skipped the Groomstick Handicap for this race. He needed the extra time."

Tour of the Cat, who won the 2002 Groomstick, registered the most important victory of his career earlier this season when he upset Gulfstream Park's Grade 2 Richter Scale Breeders' Cup Handicap.

"I'm not sure what will be next," said Mora. "I just wait for him to tell me when he's ready and then I start looking for a race."