Rydilluc faces stern test in inaugural Penn Mile

Last updated: 5/29/13 3:00 PM

Rydilluc was highly impressive in capturing the Palm Beach in his last turf attempt

(Leslie Martin/Adam Coglianese Photography)

The latest edition to the stakes calendar for three-year-old grass
performers, the $500,000
Penn Mile,
will be inaugurated early Saturday evening at Penn National. The most lucrative
event ever conducted at the Pennsylvania track, the Penn Mile highlights a
stakes-laden card which also features the second running of the $250,000

Mountainview Handicap, for older horses on the main track, and the more
established $150,000
Pennsylvania
Governor’s Cup, the track’s signature five-furlong turf dash.

Penn National appears to have gotten its money’s worth with the presence of
standouts Rydilluc, Noble Tune and Jack Milton among the field of eight for the
Penn Mile. Rydillic has been untouchable on the turf, winning three times in as
many attempts by a combined margin of 13 3/4 lengths, including the Palm Beach
over 1 1/8 miles. Last time, the Medaglia d’Oro colt looked strong at the top of
the stretch of the Blue Grass, over Polytrack at Keeneland, but weakened to
fourth in the final furlong.

“He certainly is right up there with the best horses that I have ever had,”
said Gary Contessa, a four-time leading trainer on the NYRA circuit. “He is the
best moving horse that I have ever trained and he takes your breath away when he
goes past you.

“Had he run one place better in the Blue Grass, we would have run him in the
(Kentucky) Derby. Edgar Prado has never really asked him for his best on the
turf yet, and I am looking forward to seeing how he fares against the best turf
horses in the country.”

The once-beaten Noble Tune fits that description. Favored in all five career
starts, the son of Unbridled’s Song has shown a lethal late kick in two wins
this season, including the American Turf at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks
Day.

No American-based horse has defeated Noble Tune

(Jamie Newell/Horsephotos.com)

“He is training very well and I am extremely happy with how he is coming into
the race,” trainer Chad Brown said. “Going into the American Turf, he was
training better than I had ever seen him and I expected a big effort. I am
looking forward to Saturday and it should be a great race.”

Noble Tune encountered firm ground in the American Turf, but proved with a
win in last fall’s Pilgrim at Belmont Park that he can handle softer ground if
necessary. His lone setback was a second-place effort behind European invader
George Vancouver in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in November.

Jack Milton is less experienced than the top two, but has learned very
quickly for trainer Todd Pletcher. A debut winner on the Gulfstream Park turf in
January, he next finished second against allowance company before prevailing by
a neck in the Appalachian on opening day of the Keeneland spring meet.

“We were very high on him before his first race and even more so afterwards,”
Pletcher said. “In his second race we were a little disappointed, but we felt
his loss was because he didn’t handle the surface that day. We were very
impressed by his victory in the Transylvania and originally thought about the
American Turf, but he acted like he needed some time. We know he likes running
fresh so we focused on the Penn Mile. He is training great coming into the
race.”

Pletcher will also saddle Charming Kitten, who exits a ninth-place effort in
the Kentucky Derby. The colt won a stakes named for his sire, Kitten’s Joy,
during the Gulfstream, and preceded his Derby appearance with a second to
Rydilluc in the Palm Beach and a close third in the Blue Grass.

“We have always felt like Charming Kitten’s favored surface was the turf,”
Pletcher said. “He is versatile and handles multiple surfaces. We took a shot in
the Derby and we thought he ran a big race there for his first dirt effort; he
showed some guts and determination. Now it’s back to his preferred surface.”

Grade 2-placed Are You Kidding Me appears to be the best of the rest. Pitch N
Roll, Yougotthatgoinforu and Triple Cross complete the field.

The 1 1/8-mile Mountainview has attracted several graded stakes winners,
including 2011 Louisiana Derby winner Pants On Fire, who seeks his first stakes
score since taking the Skip Away at Monmouth Park a year ago. Macho Macho, who
captured the West Virginia Derby last summer, endured a rough trip in the May 3
Alysheba at Churchill Downs and looks capable of rebounding.

Grade 3 winners Easter Gift and Jimantor, Grade 1-placed Rattlesnake Bridge,
and Maryland invader Norman Asbjornson also look solid in this contentious
affair.

Ben’s Cat is among three looking for a second Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup win

(Maryland Jockey Club/Jim McCue)

The Pennsylvania Governor’s Cup features a third meeting between the talented
veterans Ben’s Cat and Bridgetown. Ben’s Cat, who won the Governor’s Cup in 2011
and was fourth, beaten less than a length, last year, has had the edge so far,
winning last year Parx Dash Handicap by two lengths and the May 17 Jim McKay
Turf Sprint at Pimlico by a length.

Former Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winner Chamberlain Bridge, whose last Penn
National appearance resulted in a victory in the 2010 Governor’s Cup, exits a
tough photo-finish loss in the Twin Spires Turf Sprint at Churchill Downs.
Others of note are Icon Ike, a multiple stakes winner at Fair Grounds and Sam
Houston, and Kyma, who upset last year’s Governor’s Cup at odds of 34-1.

Others stakes on Saturday’s program are the
first
and
second divisions of the $50,000 Penn Dash for older horses at five furlongs,
and a pair of six-furlong races for Pennsylvania-breds: the $60,000
Silver
Train HBPA for fillies and mares, and the $60,000
E Dubai HBPA
for the boys.

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