Obviously brilliant again in Arroyo Seco Mile

The brilliant turf miler Obviously stamped himself as one of the favorites for the Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. I) with a simply stunning victory in the Arroyo Seco Mile Stakes (gr. II) this afternoon at Santa Anita, in which he used his breathtaking speed to dominate the one-mile race in the practically unheard of time of 1:31.95 seconds.

Ridden to victory by Joe Talamo, the Irish-bred colt got off to a quick start and immediately took command of the lead, running the opening quarter in :23.05 seconds to do so. Mr. Commons was on the rail racing in second, followed on the outside by Midnight Interlude. Trailblazer was about four lengths behind in fourth, followed distantly by Kettle Corn.

Obviously began to crank up his speed moving down the backstretch, coasting through a half-mile in :45.86 and blitzing three-quarters in a sprint-like 1:08.81. Then, when Mr. Commons attempted to present a challenge at the top of the stretch, Obviously responded with an :11.64 second furlong that put him in front by 1 1/2 lengths with a furlong to go. To put the finishing touches on the brilliant performance, Obviously managed to accelerate through the final furlong, getting the 220 yards in :11.50 to win by a half-length over the late-running Trailblazer.

His final time missed the track record by just .06 seconds, and that is a track record that has stood since 1997. Clearly, Obviously's performance was truly brilliant, and a repeat effort in the Breeders' Cup Mile would make him very tough to beat. Trained by Mike Mitchell and owned by Joseph Scardino and Anthony Fanticola, Obviously has now compiled an exceptional record of 6-3-1 from 11 starts, with earnings of $360,361.

Mr. Commons finished third, followed distantly by Kettle Corn and Midnight Interlude.

-Keelerman

Arroyo Seco Mile Entries: Obviously and Mr. Commons meet again

Obviously and Mr. Commons, separated by a nose in last month's Del Mar Mile (gr. II), will get a rematch on Saturday in the $150,000 Arroyo Seco Mile Stakes (gr. II) at Santa Anita Park.

The one-mile turf race is a local prep for the $2,000,000 Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. I), which will be held at Santa Anita on November 3rd. Both Obviously and Mr. Commons are pointing toward the Breeders' Cup, and would be legitimate contenders there so long as they perform to expectations on Saturday.

Japanese group II winner Trailblazer, prepping for a start in the Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. I), is an intriguing entrant, and will be ridden by the top Japanese jockey Yutaka Take. Graded stakes winners Kettle Corn and Midnight Interlude round out the field.

Post Positions

PP	Horse	Weight	Jockey	Trainer
1	Mr. Commons	121	Brice Blanc	John Shirreffs
2	Trailblazer	121	Yutaka Take	Y. Ikee
3	Obviously	124	Joe Talamo	Mike Mitchell
4	Kettle Corn	119	Garrett Gomez	John Sadler
5	Midnight Interlude	119	Martin Garcia	Bob Baffert

-Keelerman