SHADWELL TURF MILE

(Grade 1)

GRAND Arch held off Arlington Million winner The Pizza Man in an exciting finish to earn his first Grade 1 win for owners Jim and Susan Hill when claiming the $1 million Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland last Saturday.

The six-year-old gelding by Arch will contest the Breeders’ Cup Mile after picking up his second graded victory in a row. He also won the Grade 2 Fourstardave Handicap at Saratoga.

“It’s great to see him as he gets older. He just keeps getting better and better. We had this race in mind this year after a game effort last year. I was worried about the turf getting a little soft today, but he handled it well,” said trainer Brian Lynch.

Grand Arch, who was second to Wise Dan in the 2014 running of the Shadwell, tracked fourth on the rail under jockey Luis Saez, who moved his mount out after the first six furlongs and Grand Arch responded with a strong surge to go clear early in the straight. “When we got to the half-mile (pole), I had so much horse (that) I was just waiting for a little room,” Saez said. “Thank God when we got to the stretch he got a little room and he kept going. At the end, I saw two horses flying and I thought they were going to beat me, but he’s a fighter. He just kept going.”

The European challenger, Charlie Hills’ Dutch Connection was sent off favourite but came under a drive from Jim Crowley before the straight and only made some ground in the final furlong. The yeilding surface may not have been to his liking. He finished fifth while Aidan O’Brien’s War Envoy was a non-runner.

Bred in Kentucky by the Irish-owned Hunter Valley Farm and northern Irishman, Stephen Hillen, Grand Arch improved his career record to seven wins from 23 starts for earnings of over a million and a half.