IT might have been miles from its traditional home in Chicago, had no overseas entries and was run over a shorter distance, but the 2022 Grade 1 Arlington Million still had a touch of international flavour as it was won by the Brendan Walsh-trained Godolphin homebred Santin.

A four-year-old colt by Distorted Humor, Santin shadowed the pacesetting Smooth Like Strait into the stretch turn at Churchill Downs, challenged over a furlong out and went by to win by a length and three-quarters. Smooth Like Strait held second place with Sacred Life edging out Set Piece for third.

“Earlier, we rode in the Beverly D and it looked like speed was holding up pretty well on this course. We didn’t want to let Smooth Like Strait get away,” jockey Tyler Gaffalione said afterwards.

The winner had won the Grade 1 Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic over the same course on Kentucky Derby day and winning trainer Brendan Walsh said this was a similar performance.

“Tyler got him in a good position and we knew from the Beverly D that you probably wanted to be up there with the pace. He delivered on what we thought he could do. He’s been training super.”

Santin didn’t race at two and ended his three-year-old season by finishing second in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar. Last time out he was sixth in the Grade 1 Manhattan Stakes at Belmont Park in June over 10 furlongs.

“A mile and an eighth is probably as far as he wants. I wouldn’t be shy to drop him back to a mile or a mile and a 16th,” Walsh said.

Smooth Like Strait continued a string of second and third-place graded race finishes. The Million was run at Churchill Downs for the first time. The track’s parent company, Churchill Downs Inc., had closed its former home, Arlington International Racecourse near Chicago.

Beverly D

In the other Grade 1, the Beverly D, the German-bred mare Dalika found more late on under Brian Hernandez Jr and battled back to win by a half-length from Princess Grace.

The six-year-old mare by Pastorius and trained by Al Stall had been clear to lead for a half mile in 46.44secs. Halfway up the stretch, Princess Grace appeared to have the momentum but Dalika battled back to win in 1m 46.31secs over the “good” turf course, which was first used for racing this spring. Family Way was third and Aidan O’Brien’s raider Lily Pond fourth with the disappointing favourite, Rougir fifth and last.

“She brought her back as a six-year-old this year to try to get her Grade 1-placed. We probably didn’t dream we’d win a Grade 1,” owner Paul Varga of Bal Mar Equine said.

“Today kind of set up for her, she’s a speedy horse, and as you can see, she fights. She came back and won that. It was really a crowning accomplishment in the career she’s had,” her jockey Hernandez said.