DMR Mile (Grade 2)- $300.000 Purse
DMR- For Three Year Olds and Upward
One Mile on The Turf
September 2, 2023
A small field of five will make their way to the starting gate for the 18th running of the DMR Mile, which is a Grade 2 event on the turf. The race debuted on our schedule in 2006 with a $400.000 purse, and saw Billy Nomates take home the win. Since then, other winners of the DMR Mile have included Victory Rain, Duke Or Earl, and even La Terrifiant, who beat the boys in 2021. Last year, London Racing was the winning trainer, as the late Tiger Claw prevailed at the post-time favorite in a field of six. It would be his last great race, not winning again and only hitting the board one more time for his career. He did get to run in the BC Mile but was a non-factor in the race. Here’s a look at the five that will look to add their name to the winners list of this race!
#1- American Generals (Blazin D, ridden by F Pennington)- Getting the biggest test of his career here in the DMR Mile after winning his last two races. He is still lightly raced, with just six career starts. Two back, he broke his maiden in a $25.000 maiden claimer, and then followed it up with an allowance. After a scorching work here, American Generals is being given his biggest assignment yet. He’s never run long before, and while the mile work suggests that he will handle it well, you have to wonder if he will need a race at this distance, first. Sometimes it matters, sometimes not.
#2- Aerialist (Mb Stables, ridden by Mario Gutierrez)- The six-year-old gelding has won over $2,100.000 for his career, with most of that coming last year. He would win the $1,000.000 KD Turf Cup around this time in 2022 and would eventually finish third in the BC Turf. While he seemed to be getting hot, 2023 has been perhaps a little underwhelming, depending on what the expectations were for him. He did win the Grade 2 Fort Marcy in May at BEL, but on the same track for the Manhattan, he was a non-factor. Comes here off of a solid third place run in the Bowling Green, and maybe he can get another big September win here.
#3- East Of Creep (Fractious, ridden by F Geroux)- In eight races this year, East Of Creep has one finish in each of the top three spots, though his win was not in any of the stakes that he has attempted. Two of his last three races have been disappointments in Grade 1’s, including the Whitney at SAR last month. So now, Fractious is going to move him to the turf. He’s made on start on the grass, which was over a year ago that he did win. It’s certainly worth a shot, and he had a solid work here earlier in the week.
#4- Atomic Eclipse (Spankys Barn, ridden by U Rispoli)- If you’re thinking that you have seen Atomic Eclipse here before, you would be correct. The six-year-old gelding will make his third start in the DMR Mile, with his previous finishes being second in 2020 and then fourth in 2021. Each were for prior trainer La Canada Racehorses. He’s earned another crack at it by turning in triple digit SRF’s in three of his last four races, a stretch that is aced by having the winning hand at the Poker Stakes at BEL in June. Ran here in the Read Stakes last month but didn’t have the finish the trainer wanted. He’s capable of rebounding from that, and I look for him to have a big run here.
#5- Certified Yank (Threshold, ridden by D Davis)- Threshold picked himself up a bargain in the March auction, getting this one for just $15.000. Just four months before that, he was running in the BC Turf, and while he was not a factor there, if you were in that race, you had a strong year. Threshold didn’t test him much for his first race, running him in an open allowance at FE that he won, but then he was upgraded into the Fourstardave Handicap three weeks ago. He only beat one of his rivals there, but the soft turf may have played a role. He’s an interesting one to watch in this race and this is a good spot for him.
Prediction: 4-2-1-5
— NS
Categories: Grade II, STAKES ARTICLES
