The British-trained Mondialiste ran out a game winner of the Gr1 Arlington Million in Chicago on Saturday for David O’Meara and Danny Tudhope. Winner of the Woodbine Mile last year, the five-year-old obviously likes competing on his travels.
Mondialiste (Galileo (IRE) – Occupandiste (IRE))
Aidan O’Brien’s Deauville made a bold bid to become just the second three-year-old to win the historic race and follow up his Belmont Derby success but he was just run out of it close to home and finished third from a wide draw.
Kasaqui split the two Europeans but Godolphin’s Tryster only briefly flattered before fading out of contention close home.
Mondialiste, who was second to Time Test at York last time out, now has an automatic entry into the Breeders’ Cup Classic. Roger Charlton’s Decorated Knight was declared a non-runner earlier in the day.
“I couldn’t have worked out better,” Tudhope said. “We’d gone over the race so many times but you don’t know how it’s going to go. It couldn’t have gone better, though.
“He seems to love it out here, he thrives out here. It’s amazing to win a race like this my first time here, it’s amazing for everyone at the yard.”
O’Meara told NBC: “We stepped him up to a mile and a quarter at York and he ran a really good race behind Time Test and once we saw he handled the trip this race was in the back of our minds. Once he ran so well over that, the fact he ran so well when we travelled him last year, we were always going to come.
“He won at Woodbine last year and that was a win and you’re in for the Breeders’ Cup and he was second in the Mile so I don’t so a reason we won’t come back again. The owner will have the final say.”
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