International Festival of Racing runners depart Chicago

Cape Blanco, seen here preparing last week for his victory in the Million, was scheduled to leave Sunday night for Ireland (Four Footed Fotos)

They came, they saw, they conquered and now they’re leaving —
returning to Ireland’s Shannon Island on a Lufthansa equine charter out
of Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport Sunday night.

Arlington Million (G1) winner CAPE BLANCO (Ire) (Galileo [Ire]) and
stablemate TREASURE BEACH (GB) (Galileo [Ire]), hero of the 35th
anniversary edition of the Secretariat S. (G1), were both in good order
Sunday morning, according to Pat Keating, traveling head lad for Irish
trainer Aidan O’Brien’s successful invaders.

“They both ate up everything last night and have come out of their
races very well,” Keating said Sunday morning when speaking from
Arlington Park’s International Barn.

Christophe Clement’s runners both left Arlington Park before daylight Sunday
morning. Former Arlington Million winner and multiple champion GIO PONTI (Tale
of the Cat) finished second in the Million for the second straight year while
CHEETAH (GB) (Tiger Hill) ran ninth in the Beverly D. (G1), the Arlington
Million’s sister race.

“Gio Ponti is on his way back, and as of now, he came out of the race
in good order,” Clement said from Saratoga. “He was a bit unlucky. Yet
again, there was plenty of rain, which is slightly annoying. Let’s see
if we can get a break at some stage. Cheetah ran disappointingly,
especially considering her previous race (an impressive win in the
Robert G. Dick Memorial [G3] at Delaware Park).”

Treasure Beach, seen here readying for his score in the Secretariat, gave his trainer the first of a Grade 1 double-header on Saturday (Four Footed Fotos)

“Our horse ran a good race and we’re very proud of him. He got knocked around
some in the early going or he might have finished second. I think we could have
easily been second but I don’t think we could have beaten the winner. Hopefully,
we’ll get to come back again next year.”

Wigmore Hall was no stranger to Arlington’s International Festival of Racing,
having finished second in the 2010 Secretariat.

Also aboard the European-bound KLM equine charter will be ZACK HALL (Fr) (Muhtathir
[GB]), who finished ninth in the Arlington Million in his first start outside
his native land. The Mikel Delzangles-trained and co-owned four-year-old went to
the track early Sunday morning for a canter around the Polytrack.

RIVER JETEZ (SAf) (Jet Master), third in the Beverly D., will also be aboard the KLM charter
and was doing well Sunday, according to South African trainer Mike de Kock, who
also indicated that the eight-year-old mare would not have beaten the winner,
STACELITA (Fr) (Monsun).

Stacelita will likely take the Flower Bowl route to the Breeders’ Cup (Four Footed Fotos)

“She came in great shape from Rouget, no question,” Brown said. “We just put
her in our program and went from there. She responded real well. Everything is a
little different over there. They’re all a little different, the European
horses.

“We have a standard program I learned under (late Hall of Fame
trainer Bobby) Frankel we put them in. Sometimes you have to customize
it for this behavior or that behavior. But for the most part, we have a
standard program for European horses. She did it quickly.”

The Beverly D. was part of a whirlwind day for Brown, who was at
Saratoga on Saturday morning for workouts before he departed for
Arlington. He was back at Saratoga by 9:45 p.m. (EDT), he said.

“We were on the private jet of (owner) Mr. (Martin) Schwartz,” Brown
said. “We caught the tail wind flying back so it went a lot faster.”

Brown said he and Schwartz are targeting the Breeders’ Cup Filly &
Mare Turf (G1) with Stacelita, who will have one start beforehand, likely in the Flower Bowl
Invitational (G1) at Belmont Park on October 1.

“We have already supplemented her (to the Breeders’ Cup),” Brown
said. “We’ll run her one more time. (The Flower Bowl) will be the first
choice. We’ve nominated her to a few spots, but the first choice would
be the Flower Bowl.”

Leaving before dawn on Sunday was the Jonathan Sheppard-conditioned
FANTASIA (GB) (Sadler’s Wells), who was fourth in the Beverly D.