True Valour, Restrainedvengence to meet in City of Hope Mile

True Valour, the winner of the Grade 3 Thunder Road Stakes in February, and Restrainedvengence, who won the Rolling Green Handicap at Golden Gate Fields on Sept. 2, are scheduled to start in the Grade 2 City of Hope Mile at Santa Anita on Oct. 5.

The $200,000 City of Hope Mile is the leading West Coast prep for the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita on Nov. 2.

True Valour, owned by Qatar Racing, was diagnosed with bone bruising after the Thunder Road, trainer Simon Callaghan said.

“It was a 60-day deal,” Callaghan said. “We gave him some time off and they normally come back well. This is the race we’ve been focusing on.”

Restrainedvengence won his second stakes in the Rolling Green Handicap. He was third in the Grade 3 Longacres Mile on dirt at Emerald Downs in August. Sunday at Santa Anita, Restrainedvengence worked five furlongs in 1:00.20.

“I think he’s about as good as he’s been since I’ve had him,” trainer Val Brinkerhoff said. “He’s getting easier to handle. We’ll find out what we’ve got.”

Restrainedvengence won the Oceanside Stakes for 3-year-olds at a mile on turf at Del Mar in July 2018.

The field for the City of Hope Mile is expected to include Catapult, who was second in the 2018 BC Mile at Churchill Downs, and Bolo, who won the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile at Santa Anita earlier this year.