RACING:AIDAN O'BRIEN will return to a happy hunting ground in Chicago on Saturday night with Cape Blanco set to start favourite for the famous Arlington Million and Treasure Beach also likely to be the market leader for the Grade One Secretariat Stakes on the same card.
Ireland’s champion trainer landed the Million six years ago with Powerscourt who had also passed the post first in 2004 only to be demoted to fourth for causing interference in the closing stages.
That completed a clean-sweep of Irish success in the Grade One turf races on the world-renowned Million card. O’Brien had landed the Secretariat in 2000 with Ciro while John Oxx and Johnny Murtagh scored in the 1996 Beverly D Stakes with Timarida. Dermot Weld also scored a Secretariat victory three years ago with Winchester.
O’Brien’s 2011 Arlington team are expected to fly to Chicago tomorrow where they will be part of another strong international challenge that will also include the Michael Bell-trained Wigmore Hall.
With Jamie Spencer on Cape Blanco again, the well-travelled English horse will be ridden by Hayley Turner who is looking forward to the big event. “It’s a quality field and Cape Blanco sets the standard, but I feel quite confident about the prospect,” she said yesterday. Leading the home defence in the Million will be the 2009 winner Gio Ponti who chased home Cape Blanco when they clashed in last month’s Man O’War Stakes at Belmont Park.
