Little Mike stamped himself as one of the finest turf horses in the country when he won the $1,000,000 Arlington Million Stakes (gr. I) in gate-to-wire fashion on Saturday at Arlington Park.
Under a brilliant ride from Ramon Dominguez, the speedy son of Spanish Steps was sent straight to the lead as expected, but when no one challenged the gelding during the early stages of the race, Little Mike and Dominguez slowed the pace down to a crawl, running the opening quarter mile in :25.10 and the half-mile in :49.95. Willcox Inn and Colombian were his closest pursuers, while Cherokee Lord and Crackerjack King also raced fairly close to the pace. Afsare and Rahystrada were next, while Vertiformer, Boisterous, Treasure Beach, and Wigmore Hall were the early trailers.
Little Mike continued his "catch me if you can" tactics on the front end through three-quarters of a mile in 1:15.03 and a mile in 1:39.54, which brought him into the homestretch with plenty left in the tank. When Dominguez asked him to run, Little Mike responded with a brilliant :22.90 final quarter mile, which enabled him to open up a 4 1/2-length advantage passing the eighth pole and hang on late for a brilliant 1 1/2-length triumph in the good time of 2:02.44 for ten furlongs.
Afsare rallied well in the final quarter mile to finish second, while Rahystrada and Colombian finished in a dead-heat for third. Crackerjack King, Treasure Beach, Wigmore Hall, Willcox Inn, Boisterous, Cherokee Lord, and Vertiformer completed the order of finish.
The winner is owned by Priscilla Vaccarezza and is trained by Dale Romans. Little Mike's record now stands at 11 wins from 19 starts, with earnings of $1,436,412.
-Keelerman
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