BC Mile – Grade I

1 Mile Turf Stake Purse $2,000.000 Open 3 Year Olds And Up.

1st       Great Bonkers         Aer Stables          Silvera Ru

I have no idea what the trainer did to this horse but whatever it was i wish i knew! Formerly owned by Smokey Stover he had raced with a shadow roll in pretty much all of his races so there was nothing extra today, he had also raced as a closer, a front runner and a leader just as he had in the three races for his new owner but had never looked like a BC Mile winner until this stable took ownership. Claimed for $18 he is not only a strong turf worker but he has worked the sort of dirt times that would’ve made him a contender in the dirt mile or even the BC Classic making his transformation nothing less than amazing. As a four year old he still has it all in front of him and i am sure he will be the flagship of this stable for years to come.
So how did he do it? Well he has always looked a strong front runner and he is a proven wet tracker so the tactical choice was spot on as he got the wide gate speed push which sent him past the field and to the rail before the first turn. That part was essential because if he had been hung out through that turn i don’t think he would have won. So settling into the lead he was unchallenged but was going pretty fast but still within himself and it was just a matter of how long her could last. In the run down the stretch he kept digging and digging as in every yard of the final furlong he looked like he was going to be beaten. I thought he was caught on the line but as the photo was developed it turned out he had hung on for probably the bravest win in the entire BC series.
Bred by Smokey Stover he is by Good Authority, a son of Commanding and out of a Cherokee Sunset mare who had won at Stakes level herself.

2nd         Lets Do It Big Boy         RNP Stables          Ferrer J C

I have never hidden my admiration for this horse and i soooo wanted to write about him as a BC winner. Well as he took the stalk i really though that i was going to, in fact when he pulled out in the stretch to challenge the long time leader i was already writing the platitudes in my head. As they crossed the line i thought he had done it but hats off to the winner they beat a horse whose destiny as the oldest BC winner of all time was almost written.
There is nothing i can say about this horse that could justify this effort, i think on a dry tack he would’ve won but life is full of what if’s and he was massive in this effort and i just hope i have the chance to write about him as a nine year old BC winner.

3rd       Ptyrannical           Arindel                 Velazquez J R

If the first horse was brilliantly ridden and the second horse as brave as an old lion then this horse must be the unlucky horse of the BC. Starting into the third group he was always widest of the three he ran with and had to do it very hard round both turns. Tracking the 12 wide he launched his challenge widest of all and looked like he would get home all the way down the stretch. Closing on an off track after a fast run mile though isn’t easy and the fact that he had covered far more real estate than the first two told as he just failed to get home.
He has been a hugely consistent miler and i am sure he will be back next year.

4th        Banshee Star            Calia Stable              Ortiz I Jr

Broke on his own between the third and fourth groups and was well ridden in the end taking to the rail to make his run. In the end the brave eight year old could not join in with the first three but battled valiantly for fourth. It is great to see all three eight year olds in the first six and great to see this one get a brilliant reward for the trainer that had revived his career.

5th         Raj The Magician           Wood Duck Stables          Cedillo A

Broke into group two but had to run at least three wide for the entire trip. In the end continuing wide he kept going right to the line in a very brave effort.

6th          Cold Weather Rider        Night Rider Stables        Castellano J J

Came with Raj The Magician at the end but never got a look at the first three. He closed out the efforts of the three veterans and made the older generation very proud.

7th        Penal Hockey Party            Maxmillion Farm          Maldonado E

Took the stalking group and stayed on the rail but never really found a run and just whacked away in the end.

8th         Pxg              Mb Stables               Hernandez R M

Broke into the third group on the rail and stayed there but ended up searching for a run that never really came.

9th        Tiger Claw            London Racing             Prat F

The first of the spinny legged slow starters home, like many races the slow starters never had chance.

10th           Buffalo G           Nakamura Stables        Saez L

Another slow starter who tried to make up lost ground but his effort was decided at the break.

11th         Immoral             Mb Stables           Gutierrez Mario

Got some spinny legs and ended up in the last group effectively sealing his fate.

12th         Creepy Risk        Fractious           Jaramillo E

Started in the stalking group but was widest of them and fell away pretty tamely.

13th      Sly Prayers         Dawson Farms            Centeno D E

Sadly for the trainer he got spinny legs and had no chance from the start.

14th      Distant Volcano       Team 7 Illusions        Corrales G

Ran a stinker but after the slow start was never going to win, this was a mystery effort after his strong second in the Mint Million on an off track but his fate was sealed when his legs started spinning in the gate.

Categories: BC 2021-2023, Grade I, STAKES ARTICLES, THE BREEDERS CUP