2011 Arlington Million Betting Preview
- By A.J. Ryder on August 12, 2011 20:42 GMT
Ballydoyle's Cape Blanco is nearly odds-on for tomorrow's major Grade 1 clash at Arlington Park – the famous Arlinton Million. A solid selection of international superstars are set to contest this one, likely with one eye firmly-fixed on the upcoming Breeders' Cup Turf at Churchill Downs on November fourth.
Cape Blanco was last seen at Belmont Park scoring by just over two lengths ahead of America's foremost turfist Gio Ponti in the Grade 1 Man O'War Stakes. Sent off at around 3/1 on the day, punters will find an ante post listing of 6/4 on the four-year-old son of Galileo – a price tag that will likely drop once the betting resumes on Saturday.
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The build-up to the race will be interesting, especially seeing who will go off as the second and third favourites. Debussy won this race last year and was then signed by Godolphin, this year's contest is much more open you would say, and the presence of Wigmore Hall definitely complicates things for Cape Blanco.
Traditionally, we have seen Cape Blanco get to the front in the early portions of most races and this contrasts sharply with Wigmore Hall's preference to lope along at the back before unleashing that strong finishing kick. The simple fact is that Cape Blanco really hasn't won that often despite the victory on debut stateside. Is that the effect of Lasix? The multi-millionaire deserves respect but has not strung together back-to-back victories in a season since the end of his two-year-old campaign.
Gio Ponti was really close last year, losing by just half a length to Debussy and William Buick (who had captured a Group 1 in France earlier in the day). He has not won at over a mile since July of last year – six races ago. This is his fourth contest of the year and that's traditionally where we see his best performances. American racing fans usually struggle to get a good price on Gio Ponti but with plenty of attention heading Cape Blanco's way, the six-year-old son of Tale of the Cat might be set to strike lucky and score his revenge.
