Set Piece did all his running, and all the running he needed to do, in the final furlongs of the Arlington Million (G1T) Aug. 12 at Colonial Downs, rallying from last of 11 to score his first grade 1 victory.
Santin , last year’s winner, was second, two lengths back of Set Piece with Adhamo , off a 10-month layoff, along for third. The 1 1/4 miles on firm turf was clocked at 1:58.19, a course record. Splits of the race, set by Strong Quality , who would fade to seventh, were :22.96, :46.46, 1:10.12, and 1:34.02.
Florent Geroux, who calls Set Piece his favorite horse to ride, kept the 7-year-old Dansili gelding well behind all 10 rivals most of the way down the backstretch on the sweeping Colonial Downs course. Hitting the turn, he drafted behind fellow late-runner Adhamo while swinging widest of all into the stretch.
It briefly seemed Adhamo had the advantage but it was Set Piece slingshotting past and to the easy lead with Adhamo not quite up to catching Santin for second.
Set Piece clears the field en route to winning the Arlington Million at Colonial Downs
Trainer Brad Cox got his first Million victory. Geroux won for the second time, following his 2015 victory aboard The Pizza Man , the only Illinois-bred ever to win the race. The latter victory came at the Arlington Million’s longtime home—now closed Arlington International Racecourse.
A Juddmonte homebred, Set Piece is out of the Kingmambo mare Portodura.
“It’s awesome. He just hit a million (dollars in earnings) in his last race,” Cox assistant Katie Tolbert said. “That was kind of a big steppingstone for him and to add a grade 1 is awesome.”
“Juddmonte’s been wonderful to us and it’s great to have a horse for them like this. Everyone loves him. He’s a barn favorite. (Geroux) loves him. So we’re really happy for him.”
Asked if pretty much any races are fair game now heading to the Breeders’ Cup in the fall, Tolbert said, “I would think so. Obviously it’s up to Brad and Juddmonte but it would be exciting to go to the Breeders’ Cup with him, for sure.”
Florent Geroux gives Set Piece a hug after winning the Arlington Million at Colonial Downs
Set Piece started his career in December of 2018 in England, winning on the Kempton Park all-weather. He won two of four starts in 2019 in England and France, then was shipped to Kentucky and Cox for the 2020 season.
He won his first U.S. start, then, after finding no success on the dirt at Churchill Downs and Saratoga, won two straight on the Turfway Park all-weather.
He moved into graded stakes success in the Wise Dan Stakes (G2T) on the Churchill Downs turf in June 2021 and has captured three more graded events since then. The most recent of those was the Arlington Stakes (G3T) at Churchill Downs June 3. He finished third in this year’s Wise Dan, relocated to Ellis Park.
The Million, along with the Beverly D. Stakes (G1T) for fillies and mares and the Secretariat Stakes (G2T) for 3-year-olds, comprised the biggest racing program in the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia and attracted dignitaries including Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who enthusiastically noted in a pre-race interview that both Secretariat himself and this year’s Secretariat Stakes winner, Gigante , were bred in the Commonwealth.
The inaugural Arlington Million, in 1981 at its suburban Chicago birthplace, was the first Thoroughbred race to offer a seven-figure purse. The money was attractive to European connections, as was Arlington’s well-regarded turf course and, with the help of the International Racing Bureau, the race attracted European competitors throughout most of its history. There were no foreign-based starters in this year’s running.
John Henry won the nationally televised inaugural Million in a thrilling finish over The Bart, helping legitimize the race from its beginning. When the old Arlington Park burned to the ground 25 days before the 1985 renewal, owner Richard L. Duchossois famously refused to move or reschedule the event, cleared the rubble, and ran the “Miracle Million” in a county-fair atmosphere with tents in place of a grandstand. The track won a special Eclipse Award for pulling that off successfully.
A group of family members of the late Duchossois attended Saturday’s race in Virginia.
The race was moved to Woodbine in Canada for one year while Arlington was rebuilt and was run at Churchill Downs in 2022 after Arlington was closed and sold by owner Churchill Downs Inc. The Chicago Bears of the National Football League, which bought the property, are currently demolishing the facility.
CDI bought Colonial Downs last year.
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