LITTLE MIKE WINS THE ARLINGTON MILLION!

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

Arlington Million XXX Entries and Post Positions

Here are the entries and post positions for the $1,000,000 Arlington Million XXX Stakes (gr. I), to be run on Saturday at Arlington Park. The prestigious ten-furlong turf race has drawn an large and intriguing field of eleven horses, including Woodford Reserve Turf Classic Stakes (gr. I) winner Little Mike, 2011 Irish Derby (Ire-I) winner Treasure Beach, 2011 Northern Dancer Stakes (gr. I) winner Wigmore Hall, and the up-and-coming turf star Boisterous.

1 Rahystrada
2 Boisterous
3 Afsare
4 Little Mike
5 Colombian
6 Treasure Beach
7 Willcox Inn
8 Wigmore Hall
9 Crackerjack King
10 Cherokee Lord
11 Vertiformer

-Keelerman

RAHYSTRADA WINS THE ARLINGTON HANDICAP!

Eight-year-old veteran Rahystrada turned back the clock and picked up another victory in the $200,000 Arlington Handicap (gr. III), holding off a late run from favored Boisterous to win the ten-furlong turf event for the second time.

Ridden to victory by Joel Rosario, Rahystrada got off to a good start and raced away to secure the early lead from Cherokee Lord, with Nikki's Sandcastle right behind them in third. There was a gap of several lengths back to Mister Marti Gras in fourth, and another gap back to Proceed Bee and Sky Blazer. Mavericking, Boisterous, and Vertiformer were the early trailers.

Down the backstretch, the positions remained relatively unchanged with the exception of Mavericking, who made a long and bold run along the rail to reach second place as the field entered the homestretch. However, Rahystrada had plenty left in the tank after setting fractions of :24.15, :48.51, 1:13.19, and 1:38.11, and quickly turned back Mavericking's bid to open up a clear lead. Boisterous put in a good run on the far outside and had every chance at victory, but Rahystrada held him off in good fashion to win the race by a neck in 2:01.84.

Mister Martia Gras got up by a nose over Vertiformer for third, with Mavericking another nose behind in fifth. For the winner, his next start may come in the Arlington Million (gr. I) next month, a race in which he finished fourth last year.

-Keelerman

Arlington Handicap Entries and Post Positions

Here are the entries and post positions for the $200,000 Arlington Handicap, to be run on Saturday at Arlington Park. The ten-furlong turf race is a local prep for the upcoming Arlington Million (gr. I), and has thus drawn a large and talented field of eleven, including the 2010 winner Rahystrada, triple graded stakes winner Boisterous, and the consistent graded stakes winner Mister Marti Gras.

1 Mavericking
2 Sky Blazer
3 Southern Anthem
4 Mister Marti Gras
5 Proceed Bee
6 Joinem
7 Cherokee Lord
8 Rahystrada
9 Boisterous
10 Nikki's Sandcastle
11 Vertiformer

-Keelerman