The 16th Running of the G1 WO Mile
September 18, 2021 14:10
WO Race #4 $1,000.000 1-Mile Turf
3YO+ 120/123 Lbs (F/M 117/120 Lbs)
Track Record-1:31.72 (Cleveland Browns-2012)
Stakes Record-1:31.82 (Charming Behrens-2011)
Cherokee Surprise had spent the better part of 2021 spotting his rivals in graded races on the turf anywhere from three to eight lengths at the first call and being unable to run them down late. When he was sent to ELP for an allowance going 5f on the dirt, he was just a length off of a :22.4 pace before making a move and coming-home a length in front at the wire. Maybe that played a part in the decision to have him closer to the pace in Saturday’s $1,000.000 G1 WO Mile. Whatever the cause, the effects of that decision were Cherokee Surprise reaching the wire first in a time of 1:32.67 and the TwinTowersRacing gelding earning an automatic spot in the starting gate for the G1 BC Mile.
At the start, La Terrifiant and Cp Skeleton Moons, the only two fillies in the race, contested the early pace in front of a stalking group of four. The eventual winner was running in the two path in the quartet that also included Insist Always, Beach Xaar, and Butter Ball. When she completed the quarter in :23.21, La Terrifiant was three-quarters of a length ahead of her filly counterpart while racing in the three path down the long WO backstretch. Cherokee Surprise, racing comfortably in fourth, was a neck behind Insist Always, on his outside, and a neck in front of Beach Xaar, on his inside.
Reaching the half-mile point in :46.19, La Terrifiant was in full command and down on the inside. It appeared that she had won the pace battle as Cp Skeleton Moons started struggling to keep up while Cherokee Surprise and Insist Always began moving in tandem from the three and four paths, respectively. As she passed three-quarters in 1:09.06, La Terrifiant was still clear. Insist Always got the jump on Cherokee Surprise and was in position to be the first horse to confront the Smokey Stover champion filly.
Insist Always stuck his nose in front as they reached the final furlong, but La Terrifiant was game. Cherokee Surprise was between the front pair and would need to split those rivals in order to make up the length difference between them. All three runners were out in the middle of the course and the back markers had every opportunity to join their three-way battle. Cherokee Surprise reached the front inside the 1/16 pole, but Immoral was closing from at least 10-wide and had a ton of momentum. Cherokee Surprise got to the line in 1:32.67 and barely held Immoral off to post a neck victory. La Terrifiant never quit and was able to re-pass Insist Always for the show. Hollywood Command got into the photo for third, but had to settle for 5th after making a huge run from the back. Completing the order of finish were Atomic Eclipse, Beach Xaar, Butter Ball, King Que Niagra, City Watch, Manchild, Iron Nation, and Cp Skeleton Moons.
Cherokee Surprise is a 4yo Dumbell Press (o/o Lunar Surprise) gelding trained by TwinTowersRacing. The victory secured an automatic birth in November’s G1 BC Mile and improved his record to 20-6-2-1 with earnings of $842.750. Immoral received six BC points for his 2nd-place effort and is securely in the field for the G1 BC Mile. La Terrifiant was rewarded the final four BC points available and now sits in 14th place on the leaderboard with 10 BC Mile points.
Cheers to TwinTowersRacing and Cherokee Surprise for their victory in the $1,000.000 G1 WO Mile!
Categories: STAKES ARTICLES
